NRC Increases Freight by 100 per Cent

The Lagos District of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has increased the number of freight it carries weekly by 100 per cent, saying it now moves 1270 tonnes of fertilizers from Lagos to Kaduna, and pipes from Lagos to Zaria.

In a statement by the District Public Relations Officer, Khadijah Aroyewun – Adekomaiya, the corporation said the development came as a result of improved partnership with haulage firms in the movement of heavy goods to different parts of the country, where tracks are available.

According to Adekomaiya, the rise in freight represents a tremendous growth from previous months where 575.4 and 500 tonnes of goods were lifted in the months of March and April 2016, respectively.

It’s Cheaper to Run Generators with Cooking Gas than Petrol, says Obin

Philip Obin

Philip Obin is the Managing Director of Potech Limited, an ICT and marketing firm which also promotes Club 080, an empowerment programme that aims to empower Nigerian youths. Obin spoke with TOBI AWODIPE about hybrid carburetor, a modern technology that allows the running of generators with cooking gas, and its advantages

What is the hybrid carburetor about and how does it work?

The hybrid carburetor is just like any carburetor in a generator with the difference being that this type of carburetor allows you to run your generator with either cooking gas or petrol, whichever is available to you. It is easy to install and converts your existing petrol generator to also run on domestic gas (LPG or CNG).

Cooking gas has recently become scarce in the country with prices witnessing a staggering 40 per cent increase. How do you intend to cope seeing that it is the power behind this whole concept?

No matter how high the price climbs, 12.5kg cannot be sold for more than N4,000. The recent increment in gas price is not unconnected to the recent increment in petrol price. Whenever petrol price increases, all other crude oil products follow suit. So, it is normal as petrol usually controls the pricing of its other by products in Nigeria.

But beyond price, gas is cleaner, safer, always available and ‘greener’. We are talking about global warming and how to reduce carbon emissions and this is a sure way of achieving that. Using gas, the carbon emission is almost zero and there is no physical smoke when it is in use. Gas is far safer than using petrol. Even with the increase in price, it is still more economical than using petrol. Can you use N3,000 or N4,000 petrol for 10 days, at five hours daily? We all know this is not possible.

Most Nigerians are thinking of how to cut costs, especially in the area of buying fuel seeing that the economy is in recession. How affordable is using gas in the long run?

The average Nigerian doesn’t make long term plans; we always like the cheap, quick alternative to solving issues. Admittedly, the price of the carburetor is on the high side, judging with today’s economy. The carburetor goes for N25, 000 and N35, 000 respectively, depending on the KVA, and you would also need a gas cylinder, regulator hose and clips if you don’t have them, but these are all one off costs. This hybrid carburetor is an alternative for people that cannot afford to spend millions on inverters and solar systems. My aim is to make life easier for Nigerians that may not have the resources for the afore-mentioned but still want electricity at an affordable cost.

The best part is that the carburetor has a six-year life span if you use gas alone with the generator. The hybrid carburetor allows the use of both gas and petrol so if one runs out of gas and is unable to get immediately, one can still make use of petrol with it, though I would advise you try as much as possible to avoid petrol so that the carburetor and the generator last longer. However, this device is not compatible with I Better Pass My Neighbor (smallest Tiger generators) and generators with capacities above 10KVA.

How safe is it considering gas is very flammable?

It is very safe. If for instance, the hose breaks and the gas is leaking and there is fire nearby, fire would burn from the hose but there would be no explosion. What causes fire explosion is when a cylinder is leaking in an enclosed place like a kitchen, the gas fills up the room easily and when there is ignition, it explodes. But because the cylinder and the generator are outside, it would be harder for it to explode because there is enough ventilation to disperse the leaking gas. I have been running my generator with gas since August last year and sold over 10, 000 units and nobody has ever come to report any explosion or fire incident to me.

How long does it last?

A 12.5kg cylinder on a 2.5KVA generator would guarantee you 40-50 hours of electricity, depending on the load on the generator. Now, if you want to calculate it by price, that is about N60 per hour, or 10 days if you run it for five hours daily, four days if you run it 10 hours a day. At the end of the day, it is far cheaper than petrol and it does not experience scarcity like petrol.

When you buy the carburetor, anyone can fix it for you. To borrow a tech word, it is simply ‘plug and play’. Simply remove your old carburetor and replace it with this one in the same space and connect it to the cylinder. You do not need to call a generator electrician to do it for you but if you would feel more comfortable having it fixed professionally, that is not a problem either.

Business – Traditional Marketing vs Network Marketing

I had a conversation today that inspired me to write this post. The conversation was not a very successful conversation as the person on the other end of the line seemed to think that Network Marketing was a ridiculous business to be involved in. I asked him if he was a business owner and he said that he was.He seemed to thing that my business in Network Marketing, was not a very reputable business.

So, I would like to do a comparison of the Traditional style business versus a Network Marketing business. So here we go!

Traditional Business

Let’s start with a traditional business, or a brick and mortar type of setup that has a boss, employees and health plan. The boss/owner of an enterprise is the one that obviously makes the most money. Who makes that money for him, his workers. These types of businesses obviously offer a valuable product or service for it’s customers but only the owner makes a real profit. Now I could go into this a lot deeper but we know that the employees aren’t the ones making the most money. Employees struggle to make ends meet. They definitely don’t flourish and what does this do? It makes them more dependent and they are paid the minimum wage possible for their work. The minimum! So we can safely say that the boss, is the profitable one.

The product or service offered obviously varies and can make others money depending on what it is, but usually, the customer does not profit monetarily from your product. They just give their money in exchange for the item or service of value and that’s it.

Network Marketing

Now, Network Marketing is much more lucrative and on more of a level playing field for all involved. In this type of business, which most people call a Home Based Business, the owners of the company still profit the most, which is standard with most businesses, but Network Marketing companies are designed to profit others monetarily instead of just themselves. They provide a product or service of value to the customer attached to a lucrative business opportunity. Network Marketing can be classified as a group of Entrepreneurs working together to market a specific product or service as independent contractors. So instead of being paid employees, they are independent business owners usually paid through commission when a product is sold.

Now this is where the huge difference is between this business model and the traditional one, the independent business owner makes nearly 60% of the total sale as commission! As far as my experience goes, no other traditional style company offers employees that type of a payout. They are usually paid a wage and a small percentage of their sales volume.

Network Marketing is a leadership factory. It teaches, trains and often times is a stepping stone for Entrepreneurs moving on to bigger things, but the basis for their success was learned while in Network Marketing. Donald Trump said that if he had to start from scratch all over again, he would start in Network Marketing. There is so much potential in this type of business model, which obviously most people don’t realize. Every new associate or independent business owner has the same income potential, regardless of the experience, education, or employers point of view. Their level of income is dependent on their own ability to create it. There is a product in place, a system to show you how to do the business and others who have gone before you to mentor you. I don’t know an easier way!

I absolutely love Network Marketing. It allows people complete freedom….time freedom, Financial Freedom and the lifestyle of their choosing. It empowers people to realize their own greatness instead of making them work for the minimum at great sacrifice to their home life. It is a curse and a plague for those who misunderstand it and fail at it but a jewel for those who dicover it and succeed at it. It is definitely not meant for everyone but everyone is welcome. The possibilities are endless and in my opinion, Network Marketing is the business model of the future.

Short Story to emphasize the points above

Now, I won't stop here without sharing a story a Friend and Mentor from United States, Ray and Jessica Higdon, told me to illustrate the difference between Traditional Business and Network Marketing:

Joe was working in corporate America as a big executive. He had a fancy office with a great view, a large amount of people working under him, made good money, and had a fancy title that he could brag about to people. Joe also happened to work 60-80 hours a week and barely got to spend time with his family, but his thought process was “that’s just the price you pay to live a great lifestyle and take care of your family.”

Every day that Joe drove to work, he passed his neighbor’s house. His neighbor, John, had a big, beautiful house. The house had bright green grass, a huge pool and lanai out back, large columns in front and big iron double doors. Joe envied his neighbor because every time Joe kissed his kids good bye at 7 am and got in his car to drive to work, his neighbor would wave from the front steps in a bath robe and then walked right back inside to spend the day with this family.

That day Joe made a decision. He knew that John owned his own business and was completely financially free, so he decided he no longer wanted to be part of the corporate rat race and he would go out on his own! It just so happened that Joe got laid off that day anyways, but he knew it was coming because his company had been in trouble for quite some time.

Joe didn’t panic, he already had a plan to open a coffee shop in his area.

A few months later he spent $250,000 getting his coffee shop off the ground and running and is so excited it’s finally ready to go! He hires a ton of employees, a manager, and holds a grand opening. Long story short, his employees kept stealing from the register, he ended up working 80-90 hours a week (even more than his job), made less money even after 3 years of being open for business, and was actually barely making a profit.

Joe was so frustrated and beaten down, he decided to go see John and ask him what he should do. John, his neighbor, was successful happy and free so he must know the answer. What do you think John did for a living? Network marketing! (this is a true story). John explained the benefits of network marketing vs. traditional business to Joe, even though Joe was skeptical because his unsuccessful brother and sister in law had tried one of “those things” and it didn’t do anything.

Network marketing has created more millionaires than any other industry, but unfortunately more times than most a lot of people have been so poisoned by the mass thinking that people don’t understand it’s true power.

Joe joined John’s network marketing company and after 2 years was making multiple six figures then went on to become a multi millionaire with the industry after 5 years.

Benefits of Network Marketing:

1. No boss

2. Low overhead

3. Low start up cost

4. Unlimited profit potential

5. No employees

6. No headaches or emergencies

7. Financial and time freedom

Benefits of Traditional Business:

1. No boss

Most people think traditional business is “the way of life” because it’s been hammered into our minds over and over again. Of course there are many successful traditional businesses and I commend them for that, however there is also a lot of risk, capital and headaches that come with it.

I used to be a skeptic because I wasn’t properly educated on network marketing and I listened to the masses when I should’ve been paying attention to the people I wanted to model. I educated myself, got involved with network marketing 2 and a half years ago and now I’m the top female income earner and recruiter in my network marketing company.

I was a broke college student who didn’t know anyone, traditional business was not an option for me so I tried something new.

“If you want to get something you haven’t gotten, you have to do something you haven’t done.”

that was my motto for a long time and it’s gotten me to where I am today. I’m excited to be educating people today about what I do and creating a lifestyle for thousands of people through network marketing.

Nigeria Launches “Purely” Market-Driven Forex Trading

Forex

Nigeria’s central bank will open a “purely” market-driven window for interbank foreign exchange trading, shifting away from a fixed exchange rate, in an effort to increase the supply of hard currency, the governor of the bank said on Wednesday.

The central bank will use the new trading scheme to inject foreign exchange liquidity, if needed, which Nigeria hopes will ease severe dollar shortages caused by a slump in oil revenue, Governor Godwin Emefiele said.

Africa Spends $35 Billion on Food Importation

Africa needs to increase its investment in science and technology to become more efficient and competitive in agriculture and to diversify its economies; this is according to Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank.

“Africa spends $35 billion in importing food; it is projected that the number will grow to $110 billion by 2025. Africa is importing what it should be producing, creating poverty within Africa and exporting jobs to other continents,” he lamented.

‘Nigeria’s Vehicle Production Capacity to hit 200,000 by December’

The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), yesterday, said the total installed vehicle assemblage capacity in the country will reach 200,000 before the end of the year.

With new automakers, including Century Auto (Toyota), TATA, Coscharis Auto (FORD, Joylong, Dongfeng), Globe Motors (Higer, Globe), Leventis (FOTON -Diamler), Kewalram Chanrai (GM, Mitsubishi) and Tilad (Shinery), Director General of NADDC, Aminu Jalal told The Guardian in a telephone conversation that the companies would add over 100,000 vehicles yearly capacity, bringing the total installed capacity to 200,000 in a single operational shift.

Success Tip 23 - Emotional Intelligence and Entrepreneurial Success

Does emotional intelligence (EQ) play a role in an entrepreneur’s success?  Aren’t entrepreneurs just individuals that are driven to success at all costs?  There are plenty of studies that show a connection between EQ and entrepreneurial success.  Through personal experience and observation, I can attest to what I believe is a direct link.

 Being a successful entrepreneur requires a diverse set of skills, EQ forms that foundation.  The most successful entrepreneurs are experts at identifying opportunities that others can’t see.  How do they do that?  Is it a sixth sense or is it really EQ?  They have a keen social awareness.  They are constantly observing, outwardly focused on the needs of others in an effort to identify needs that have not yet been met.  Sounds a little bit different than the typical money hungry vulture that the media sometimes describes, doesn’t it?  The most successful are masters of the art of leadership and team building.  They understand how to manage themselves and their own emotions, as well as how to manage the delicate balance of relationships with others.  Building reputable brands, communicating their expertise, negotiating, collaborating, and networking are all part of the daily grind and form the critical building blocks for long-term success. But, here’s the thing. Without emotional intelligence, executing these activities can be difficult at best. At worse, futile.

The Rush To Gold: A New Respect Is Growing by Guy Christopher

You didn't come here today for bad news. There's plenty of that everywhere you look…and even where you don't look.

So here's the good news. A new rush to gold has begun. To see where we're headed, let's first see where we've been.

Gold and silver owners in the first ten years of this new century were in for quite a ride, watching gold soar to $1,895 and silver to $49 by 2011. Even those who jumped in midway saw their paper money values zoom.

Gold had bottomed at $255.95, April 2, 2001. Note the gold bull began months before the attacks of 9/11. Silver bottomed nine weeks after the attacks at $4.06, alongside crashing stock markets.

The national debt in 2001 was $5.8 trillion, on its way to today's $20 trillion. Savers and retirees could depend on CD and bond returns well north of 5%. US bonds were still Triple-A rated. You could take your cash from your bank without federal snooping.