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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

How to earn extra cash in 2011

Kumekucha readers are used to hardball politics but I thought it would be useful to take a brief break today and in these rather hard times share a few money-making tips and spread some inspiration all round especially to those who had a rough 2010… more so cash wise.

Nothing wrong with this I suppose because after all we do carry business articles in Kumekucha occasionally… So here goes

1) Set aside some thinking time: George Orwell’s scary book 1984 is coming to life before the very eyes of those who have read it carefully. We are robots these days controlled by our cell phones and computers. When is the last time you had some quality thinking time? Switch off your cell phone and switch off the computer for 15 minutes and do same careful thinking about YOU and YOUR LIFE. Where are you? Where do you want to go? Are you really serious about earning some extra cash in 2011? You better be (don’t just forget the minute you finish reading this post).

2) The cash is in the problems: There is plenty of information on the web on how to turn the skills you currently have into hard cash. But when you try something it just doesn’t seem to work. Here is the big secret that will make all the difference in 2011. THE MONEY IS IN OPPORTUNITITIES. What that simply means is that your skills have to find opportunities. Quit trying to use your skills to create opportunities because it won’t work. It used to work but it doesn’t work anymore in this changed world of today. Simple example. You have book keeping skills and so you place a classified ad in the newspapers and online seeking part-time book keeping gigs. Nothing happens. Now why not take a completely different approach and look for the problems people are facing out there that will use your book keeping skills? Another word for problems incase you didn’t know is “money making opportunities”. Busy small business people are having problems filing their tax returns so your classified ad should address that instead of just saying book keeping skills. This will work very well especially as the deadline approaches. Another example; I know many small time entrepreneurs in Nairobi who have a serious problem finding the right PC software to do their accounts Quickbooks for instance allows you to do this with zero staff (but you will need a consultant to help you set it up properly and to translate them into something acceptable to the KRA (Kenya Revenue Authority. Don’t tell me you are a book-keeper without computer skills? There are endless book-keeping related problems that you can address. And this applies to everybody. SEEK YE FIRST THE PROBLEMS (OPPORTUNITIES).

3) Making money away from your computer is getting increasingly difficult. Try selling door to door and the decision-makers are all glued to their PCs and will give you 5 mins of half-listening to get back to their computers. So why not talk to them online? Go door to door getting email addresses of the bosses and then craft a good email letter addressing their individual problems directly and showing them how your services can solve them and you are sure to have a winner and make more money in 2011. Use Facebook to keep them on your mind and show them some interesting stuff that can help solve their problems (sometimes totally unrelated to your services). That is how they will remember you.

4) One idea can still change everything. I have seen this happen way too many times over the years. Some down and out guy stumbles on a single idea and it changes their lives forever. The lesson you must not forget in 2011 is that when an idea fails you, don’t take it personally. Try the next one with as much enthusiasm. It is just a matter of time and you will hit the jackpot.

5) Find a way to use the web. In the West they have plenty of wonderful websites that can do all sorts of stuff for free. Heard of Ebay? Tens of thousands of Americans earn a very good living on the site. But don’t worry we in Africa are catching up gradually. You can check out this site where people have advertised odd jobs they can do for only 100 bob. There are two ways you can make serious money from this right away. You can use cheap service providers (at no risk, they are paid only when the work has been delivered and you are satisfied with the quality) as your staff to run a very major side business even as you remain employed. The second way is if you are idle and have not reached that level yet, you can package your skill into a useful gig you can easily get done quickly (because of your immense skill in this area) and sell it for a hundred bob a pop. It must be something you can a thousand units of virtually in your sleep if you want to make Kshs 100,000 just like that. The magic here is that you are able to advertise your gigs for FREE and receive your payments via Mpesa once the job is done. Have you realized how time consuming chasing for payments is most of the time? So by eliminating that from the equation some switched on Kenyans are already making tens of thousands of shillings every month even as slower ones complain that 100 bob is too little for them.

6) DO SOMETHING: And that last rather sarcastic remark in 5 above brings us to the most important point in this article. If you don’t do this, nothing else matters. You can have the best ideas and best websites but you will fail if you do nothing. DO SOMETHING. This is not the time to analyze and strategize, you have already done too much of that in the past. Just get going doing something RIGHT AWAY, however little and build up from that.

When the great Google Inc. started the founders were not earning even a hundred bob for their revolutionary new search engine. They were earning zero!! Zilch!!! Yes and they operated for well over a year earning ZERO while fine-tuning their search engine and business trying to figure out a way to get paid for it. Today Google is a multi-billion dollar company. So why not start in the same way? Or even start with the 100 bob above and see what happens. Good luck to you. May 2011 be your most prosperous year yet and remember to tell me what happens, I am intersted.

Don't worry Kumekucha is still a hard politics blog (see current political post) : Is Raila Evil?

21 comments:

  1. Nice post bwana Chris. After "all" it is all about money.

    Now, we do not know whether you will find this appropriate or you might want to charge us.

    Apart from discussing UTOPIAN political/legal/wealth ideas, we engage in some very REAL STUFF.

    In this respect, we have a small COSMETICS & DETERGENTS Manufacturing Co. in Nairobi.

    We are looking to expand our sales beyond Nairobi to places like Kakamega, Kisumu and even better, to South Sudan where they are currently taking OPIUM.

    Anyone who reads kk would be interested in buying our products and selling in places like Kakamega, Kisumu, South Sudan and off course make money as Chris says in 2011?

    ReplyDelete
  2. " Get services that are worth thousands and even tens of thousands of shillings for only 100 bob "

    Sasa pia wewe umeanza Zawadi 2929? Taking advantage of your blogs popularity & high traffic to swindle us? Shindwe

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  3. Did orwell write a book called 2004? I know 1984.

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  4. Mwarangethe,

    Am very tempted to tear down your business on cosmetics, but i will not.

    Just wanna see you tear down products like you do ideas. The idea behind cosmetics is supervisual ... I wish people would eat right foods and exercise healthily and they wont have to think of cosmetics.

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  5. chris- that blog you ya soo moja which u are marketing reminds me of pound shops in u.k where kila kitu costs 1 quid. that concept has picked in nairobi and recently saw several "100 shops" with similar concepts. the only spoiler kenyan style is that there was a man dressed like a clown ringing a bell and making loud noises to attract customers. he was in fact ending up doing complete opposite and scared the hell out of everyone.

    forget car hire companies: I have a small motorcycle hire company which i started as a hobby really last august and it's doing remarkably very well. i have now employed 3 people to manage it since i'm always travelling and don't have much time for it. the catch is that i only enter an agreement with well known established companies especially courier ones and never individuals.

    Another biz i'm working out this year is a sexy barber shop with sexy female barbers who will pamper, massage, pedicure, manicure and spoil tired businessmen. the shop will have free high speed internet, magazines and a glass of wine or soda for every client. i will install cctv cameras and will definitely prosecute any horny male who gropes my employees tits or migingos.

    m. pesa

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  6. Mpesa ur an entrepreneur!!

    Great!!!

    Great ideas too. That one of female barbers did u by any chance get inspiration from a post I did last year sometime? Hehehehehe

    Anon@ 3:36 Orwell's book was indeed 1984. How the years fly. Thanx Have corrected it.

    P.S. Do you guys think it is a good idea to do regular money-making idea posts like this one?

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  7. Chris:

    actually, the inspiration came from that article u penned right here in kumekucha about those sexy female 'barberess' u encountered i think somewhere in okuyo land. and since then i have been thinking, why not go for similar but spice it up kidogo? maybe since i don't have lots of spare time, i can let space to those chicks who can be paying me kitu kidogo per month for using my exclusive space? atsii.. why should i be the one paying them? i have also on several occassions met bwana goko who owns the infamous strip clubs called apple bees in nairobi. the dude in his own words "wasted" 15 years in america only to end up being deported back to kenya without much..mkono mtupu! soon, an idea struck him about strip clubs he used to frequent in america and came up with apple bees (he used the same name as the ones in u.s.a) the first joint was somewhere near river road and attracted all and sundry including prominent politicians who i can't name here. then he came up with another in parklands, then ngong rd- at china centre and also in south b. as they say, the rest is history. the notoriously reclusive dude who got deported without even shoes on his feet is now one of the richest young kenyans. his h3 hummer is on the high sees as we speak. the young man dared to dream and think different! he gave people what they wanted but couldn't get. he's kenya's very own hugh hefner of playboy fame. don't just sit there dear kumekuchans...do something! dare to dream.

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  8. Luke wrote:

    Happy to support your beauty and oranmental venture however I don't personally know many African women who wear the stuff

    1/12/11 5:25 AM

    xxx

    Luke wacha zako.

    Do you use after shave creams/foams? Don't you use deodorant or antiperspirant? After shave face talc?

    Do you have a baby? What about baby oil, baby shampoo?

    Do u have a woman? Does she not use shampoo, hair conditioners, straightners? She does not use lip sticks, body scrub, eye mascara, eye liner, lotions, lip balms, dandruff treatment etc?

    Where you come from, you are not aware of any school, dispensary, a milk factory that uses detergents for toilets and such?

    What about such as:

    Carpet cleaners? Dance floor wax? Dish washing chemicals? Window cleaning sprays?

    What about car cleanin stuff like wax?

    Hata disinfectants bwana Luke?

    In any case, hata kama ni chalks and charcoal ama toothpaste ya watu wa slums, we can talk.

    xxxx

    Another biz i'm working out this year is a sexy barber shop with sexy female barbers who will pamper, massage, pedicure, manicure and spoil tired businessmen. the shop will have free high speed internet, magazines and a glass of wine or soda for every client. i will install cctv cameras and will definitely prosecute any horny male who gropes my employees tits or migingos.

    m. pesa

    xxxx

    We see body massage lotions and such which we can discuss.

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Chris,
    You are very right on opportunities. Contrast the clamour to grow rich and the ragtag poor village boy ready to sell his kidney to raise school fees. That is Kenya's two face for you.

    @Luka,
    Wacha wivu, please mount your COLOURLESS horse and get rich or die trying, will you?

    @Mpesa,
    Good luck and may you remain true to your original calling and expand the business without riding on bent backs/beaus

    @Mwarangethe,
    What currency are you trading in, $/£ ama GOLD? LOL. And please remember not to do a Kenya (NCC) on your clients by sellng chalk as paste, ama?

    Kazi iendelee!!

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  10. Earning an extra income besides a decent wage is a very good idea for 2011. Unlike living from paycheck to paycheck which is fraught with peril.

    This notion of "domestic staff" was taken up by the natives who still define themselves as "wakubwa" (wannabe little europeans) for having replaced the colonial admisntrators and European settlers who were better known as "wazungu" or "bwana wakubwa" during the dark age of imperialism.

    "Support staff" aka "cheap labour" is a reality that is self-evident to anyone living in and around the Nairobi metroplitan area. That's a topic for another day.

    How about we help provide ways, means and conducive environment to some members of our "working nation" so that they may be able to own and manage their own businesses around the country?

    Let's say,

    i) "House Helps" would be able to own and operate house cleaning companies, daycare centers, babysitting and home helpers service companies, etc at affordable rates.

    ii) "Shamba Boys" would be able to own and operate landscaping companies and provide a variety of quality services while at the same time offering employment to well trained employees.

    iii) "Night Watchmen" would be able to own, operate or be employed by security firms that provide better services and at the same time offer decent paying jobs (decent wages) to qualified personnel securiyt specialists.

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  11. As always the sales of any beauty products and common household products tranlates into simple economics, demand and supply. You know it, they know it and we know it. Join the competition on ground zero. Kwesha mambo.

    Talking of our African women, some caring and concerned sister should twit Yvonne Ndege asap and let her know that she is in need of an urgent makeover. The hair piece wig, clip or horse tail extension on her head looks real awful.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Taabu wrote

    @Mwarangethe,
    What currency are you trading in, $/£ ama GOLD? LOL. And please remember not to do a Kenya (NCC) on your clients by sellng chalk as paste, ama?

    xxx

    Yes, if you have gold, platinum, palladium and silver it is fine with us.

    Well, as concerns chalks and NCC, you have to realise one this. The people who supply governments and those who engage in MONOPOLISTIC businesses such as BANKS, in MAJORITY of cases are not business people, but, crooks.

    If you are in competitive business, quality of your products/service is your protection and not fraud.

    This is so for simple reason. If you mess, the customers will run away and you go bankrupt.

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  13. @Mwara"N"gethe,

    Didn't realise that you have an entreprenual mind, when all is said and done, we do need this USELESS PAPER! afterall, but good to see that you are supporting our economy though via "remote control", but I wouldn't mind supporting your efforts, especially with regard to increasing market penetration.

    @ Chris,

    Seems we are following Lukas advice of making money in any way we can, but I do opine that everyone can &should start & own their business, a wide range of business opportunities do exist, we only need to be observant.

    I also practice this REAL STUFF!, borrowing from mwara's parlance! ..

    By observing market indicators, I have Heavily invested in ICT ( this to me is the future), Partnered in an Investment Bank & Agency banking, Transport, Real Estate and Agri-business.

    Chris, I made a tidy sum this weekend, sample this; I bought 350 bags of ground nuts in Kisumu @ Ksh, 6,000 per bag and sold the same in Busia, where the prices now stand @ Ksh 10,000...so opportunites do exist, Luka we are making money any how, au sio?


    The Oracle has Spoken

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  14. @Oracle
    Just as I suspected you are a rich fellow (no problem with that, and please NO OFFENCE to the other bloggers I falsely accused.The poor are always welcome here at KK)

    You know our Kenyan economy always booms very selectively and moreso on paper, however I am certain you and Mwarang'ethe understand your trade and business from A-Z especially as your priority is to EASE poverty and break the back of triple digit JOBLESSNESS isn't it?

    Truly I can say we are well on our way to 500,000 jobs p.a.(NARC)

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  15. Well said. we make the money and pay for the and pay for the POOR Ocampo six!

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  16. @Luka,

    Brother, I try in my little way to help the un-employed, though some are much older than I ( Turning 31 in July of this year), the number of people under my employ currently stand at 120 and I hope the number will grow, but I do mentor & try and empower them to become self - reliant.

    I am about to start a Kidney dialysis centre, the no. Of Kenyans who need dialysis on a weekly basis stands at 400,000 people and I believe they are over exploited, the cheapest session at KNH is ksh 8,000 and Nairobi Hospital Ksh 20,000. I am aiming for Ksh 4,000 / lower.

    @ Mwara"N"gethe,

    There is a group called Kaz - Kazi Network, who specialize in mass market penetration, they are in direct contact with over 150,000 distributors nationwide, they operate on a commission of 5%, but they can help distribute your products, so imagine the multiplier effect or for any budding KK entreprenuer.


    The Oracle has Spoken

    ReplyDelete
  17. Figures aside, who would've thought the Oracle would stoop low enough to physically trawl municipal markets & peddle peanuts for a living. If you want to REALLY get rich, work for Harun Mwau as an executive chauffeur, drive his figure 8 daughter (hopefully there's more than one & if not, do a Jermain Jackson) & get into the family EXE-pushing business. A tax free (limited time only) & privileged status awaits thee at the finishing line. Kidney cleansing is a heck of a lot harder than "harvesting" one from a desperate donor.

    ReplyDelete
  18. @Bobby6Killer,

    We are a working Nation ain't we? Now what would I be doing trawling markets, to decrease my margins, when I can go directly to the SOURCE?

    Business is about surmounting CHALLENGES!! Ain't it? ,So the Kidney biz, am up to the task bro, from machines, strategic partners / alliances, capital etc it ain't going to be hard, plus si we are serving the Nation ama?

    Am cormfortable right now, so I will leave it to you to chase Mwau's "seed", just drop by his residence on Lenana Road and Holla, otherwise we hope you are serving the Nation as well.


    The Oracle has Spoken

    ReplyDelete
  19. @Bobby6Killer,

    We "Harvest" where we sow & the saying goes.. If I don't trawl, I could end up earning "peanuts" and thats no fun, didn't Luka say it's your fault, an "eight figure" pay cheque is more palatable for me and "moon walking" in my "avunjas" is it even possible? That's better left for the muddy markets.

    "EXE" should be left for Nyama Karanga na Chapo. Anyway, Bobby ensure you earn more than your fair share of a "6 Killer" pay cheque au sio?


    The Oracle has Spoken

    ReplyDelete
  20. @ Eric the Oracle. Relax man. My last post was purely satirical. I don't expect you to get into the body parts racket or the drug trade for that matter. You're entrepreneurial spirit is fine by me. My aspiration is to be the 6 million $ man or better, someday...

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  21. @Bobby6Killer,

    I know it was pure SATIRE! Man. Is Eric the new addition to the brand name of the Oracle? LOL!, I have read with glee, several alias' supposedly deemed to be associated with my persona, but I don't bother respond to the cyber attacks, what for?

    Several KK authors have tried to impersonate my writing style, I guess Kupakana Matope is here to stay, Kenyan style. Which makes one develop a thick skin You stooping low is just part of the KK murky world, but you can bring it on anytime, for a mano-a-mano round of intellectual discourse & I will match you word for word,

    Anyway, I wish you well in your "Treasure hunt", let me swallow more mouthfuls of Mursik, as I wait for more shenanigans.



    The Oracle has Spoken

    ReplyDelete

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