BOOK OF THE WEEK: DIARY OF A PREGNANT VIRGIN by OLAMIPEJU ADEKUNLE

Hello people.

The first thought that may occur to a person who sees the book, Diary of a Pregnant Virgin, for the first time might be: These fiction writers have started again. How is it possible for a virgin to be pregnant?

I definitely would have thought the same thing except that in this case, Diary of a Pregnant Virgin is the real life story of Olamipeju Adekunle, the host of The Girls Show on Unilag FM who also happened to be my roommate in final year in the University of Lagos.

In the opening chapter of the book, Olamipeju learns that she has been posted to Zamfara State for the National Youth Service Corps[N.Y.S.C]. For those who do not know, N.Y.S.C is a mandatory one year service that all Nigerian graduates must undergo if they wish to get a good job afterwards [although I must add that observing the compulsory youth service is not a guarantee that a graduate will get a good job at the end of the service year].

Peju, a Southerner, is upset by this posting to a Northern part of Nigeria but later makes up her mind to go after receiving encouragement from her family and friends.

A lively Peju embarks on an adventure in the North, spends three weeks in camp, and comes back to Lagos to prepare for her one year stay in the North, where she is welcomed by her loved ones.

Few days later, Peju falls ill and visits the doctor, only to be told that she is pregnant, notwithstanding the fact that she is still a virgin.

I like the conversational style of the book. Despite being titled Diary of a Pregnant Virgin, there are no letters to a diary, no ‘Dear Diary’ as other books with such titles are wont to do. Instead, Peju regales readers with humorous stories of her life after being told about the pregnancy during the period of Youth Service.

I was also a bit surprised at how frank Peju was in the book. I mean, she is not the first media personality to get pregnant outside of marriage. We all know some actresses like Genevieve Nnaji and Iretiola Doyle got pregnant at a young age, however, the tendency for such celebrities is to keep mum about it,  preferring to label it as ‘a mistake’ or something similar to that.

In Peju’s case, however, she is very frank [if not too frank] and describes events leading up to the pregnancy and afterwards. This has the effect of making readers connect with her even while marvelling at her daring and crazy acts.

All in all, readers will definitely have something to think about and take away long after reading the book.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Olamipeju Adekunle is the host of The Girls Show on Unilag 103.1FM. She is also the convener of The Girls Revolution, an annual conference aimed at empowering young girls. The conference has featured notable speakers such as Toyin Saraki; the wife of Senate President, Bukola Saraki,  Abimbola Fashola; erstwhile First Lady of Lagos State and Bolanle Ambode, the wife of the Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode.

The Diary of a Pregnant Virgin can be gotten via this link on Okadabooks: https://www.okadabooks.com/book/about/diary_of_a_pregnant_virgin/15648#.WckfhFRAM4k.link

HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR BOOK THROUGH BOOK BLOGGERS

Hello people.

This is for authors and would-be authors. My e-booklet, How to Promote Your Book Through Book Bloggers, is now on the Okadabooks platform.

Price: Free

Yes, you read right. It can be downloaded for free via this link: 

https://www.okadabooks.com/book/about/how_to_promote_your_book_through_book_bloggers/15692#.WcfCnBLWW84.link

Enjoy, and please leave a review on the site afterwards.

Thank you!

THE STRAWBERRY STARTUP by MOSES LIM

Hello people.

Sometime around 2007, there was a major shakeup in the Nigerian banking industry, which saw some founders like Ernest Akingbola [Intercontinental bank] and Cecilia Ibru [Oceanic bank] having to leave the banks they founded.

I often wondered at the time what it would feel like to be forced out of a company one founded; I mean, it is one thing to voluntarily vacate the position of CEO of your company, but it is another thing altogether to be forced to resign and, if care is not taken, be left with nothing.

Not surprisingly, a lot of entrepreneurs both famous and relatively unknown have been forced to leave their company, years after building it, for reasons ranging from the mundane to the utterly ridiculous.

So how is an entrepreneur to protect himself/herself after building a company? That, amongst other things, is one question this week’s book, The Strawberry Startup, seeks to answer.

The Strawberry Startup, written by Moses Lim, is a book for entrepreneurs interested in starting their own business. In the opening chapter of the book, the author dishes out standard advice:  Turn your passion into profit but make sure it can be monetised. He also explains how to find co-founders who will be a good fit for the company.

One point Lim makes, which I’m not sure many African entrepreneurs will agree with, is that start-ups should have an exit strategy right from the start. In other words, entrepreneurs must plan what to do in case the business fails [Did I hear you say ‘God forbid’?]. The average African tends to be optimistic and refuses to see failure as an option, but failure, according to Lim, is not an impossibility, and it is a wise business owner who takes that into consideration when planning the business.

Lim also asserts that it is imperative for business founders to take care of themselves when planning the future of the business as the tide could turn against them in future. He buttresses his point by giving case studies of founders being pushed out by investors or left with nothing years after founding the business.

Other salient tips given by Lim include:

·       Get social proof for your company either before or after launching it.

·       Do not choose a successor similar to yourself.

·      Hire passion and talent, not experience [some people are bristling right now. Go read the book to understand his point].

·       Learn from the blunders of other companies similar to yours.

·       Do not grow too attached to your business plan.

I enjoyed reading the book and I recommend it to all individuals looking to start their own business. The book can be gotten on Amazon and other major bookstores.

REVELATIONS INCORPORATED: WORKPLACE WISDOM FOR THE 21ST CENTURY by BRIAN RAY

Hello people.

Almost every organization has two kinds of employees: The Disgruntled Employee [the employee who is unhappy with some of the company's practices] and The Devil’s Advocate [the employee who speaks on behalf of the company].

A typical conversation between the two usually goes something like this:

Disgruntled Employee [in angry tone]: This company makes a lot of profit from its clients and yet they choose to pay us a pittance. I’m leaving them as soon as I get a job with a better offer!

Devil’s Advocate[in pacifying tone]:Before you complain, remember that the company has a lot of other things to pay for such as electricity bills, bank debts, building maintenance, etc. They are not making as much profit as you think they are.

Disgruntled Employee: Please spare me the rhetoric!  Do you know how much profit they make per client? The profit per x number of clients is enough to cover capital expenses if only the management will handle the money in an ethical, disciplined manner.

And on and on the conversation rages, with other employees choosing to take sides and none the wiser at the end of the day, except that the question remains: Do companies truly rip their employees off?

Well, Brian Ray seems to think so. 

In the foreword to Revelations Incorporated: Workplace Wisdom for the 21st Century; Brian claims that his book is about the truth of the corporate world and the mentality of many individuals within workplace culture.

He makes the assertion in Chapter 1: Understanding and Accepting the Reality, that many people think businesses and corporations are caring entities which make profit through ethical means. The reality, according to Brian, is that many companies will do all they can to make maximum profit, including cheating employees out of their rightful earnings.

As if that claim was not inflammatory enough, Brian states in Chapter 2: Working Through It All, that the employee who sees his job as his life is merely living in a fool’s paradise. According to Brian, the reality is that a job is simply a means to an end and that companies will send even their best employees packing when they deem fit, notwithstanding the employee’s past contributions to the business.

The ‘bad news’ continues in further chapters as Brian tackles sensitive workplace issues such as bad management, unfriendly clients and customers, as well as bullies in the workplace, citing case studies to back up his claims.

The good news, however, is that at the end of each chapter, Brian gives helpful tips for avoiding the potential landmines in the office.

I must confess that when I started reading the book, I felt the opening chapter was inflammatory and controversial. As I continued reading, however, one thing was clear. While CEOs will definitely not like the book, many employees will be able to relate with some of the scenarios painted.

For instance, he mentions that to a large extent, a lot of staff meetings are simply a waste of time and provide an opportunity for management to spout off aphorisms which promote their agenda. That is one statement the average employee will easily identify with. 

Another point Brian makes is that it is an illusion to think that doing a spectacular job every day will earn a worker raises, promotions and the admiration of management and fellow workers. According to him, the reality is that the worker in question will be held to unrealistic standards compared to other workers, and he or she may even become a dumping ground for extra work beyond their scope/job description.

The book is not all serious, however. There are bits of humour sprinkled across it especially in the chapter dealing with workplace bullies; some of whom Brian identifies with names such as The Boss's Little Pet, The Credit Stealer, The Clueless Twit, The Vampire Boss, etc.

 I recommend this book to the emotionally mature who can handle the sensitive issues contained therein without being weighed down by them, choosing rather to focus on the solutions provided.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brian Ray is a Business and Management consultant who has worked with companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Delphi and General Motors. He is the proprietor of his own consulting company as well as a speaker and corporate trainer specializing in promoting positive changes in businesses and people. Revelations Incorporated: Workplace Wisdom for the 21st Century is his first book and can be gotten on Amazon and other major bookstores. 

BOOK OF THE WEEK: GET SMARTER MARKETING by JILL BRENNAN

Hello people.

Years ago, I was at an event where a speaker was scheduled to give a motivational speech to young, budding entrepreneurs. As many such speakers are wont to, she started by trying to convince the audience that she struggled before becoming successful. She also kept emphasizing that success is possible and easily attained no matter what a person’s background may look like. 

Her speech resonated with the audience until she began narrating the story of how she got aid for her business by dressing neatly, wearing stiletto heels and going to the headquarters of one of the popular banks in Lagos to demand audience with the bank’s CEO. As the security men made to drive her away, the CEO ‘miraculously’ saw her, gave her audience and voila! funds were given to her for her business.

At that point, my partner and I burst into cynic laughter. This was clearly a case of a fabulous story, which, in local parlance, means a story that is too good to be true. Where in Nigeria will you be given funds simply because you walked up to the security men of a company and demanded to see the CEO? My best part of that event ended up being the food rather than the speech.

Fortunately, Jill Brennan delivers the real thing and not a fabulous story in her book, Get Smarter Marketing: The Small Business Owner’s Guide to Building a Savvy Business. Whereas some marketing books which claim to be targeted at small businesses end up teaching ideas that are clearly not for small businesses, Jill’s book lives up to its promise.

The opening statement of the book: Getting noticed in a world that has gone brand crazy is hard; is one that any small business owner can relate to. She goes on to list the advertising budget of big brands such as Coke [$3.3 billion in 2013] and Nike [$3 billion in 2014]. Of course, by the time one is done reading the statistics, the small business owner already knows that he or she definitely cannot compete with such brands.

Fortunately, Jill puts us out of our misery by stating that it is possible for small business owners to grow their business even without big budgets - but this is only possible when one has a sound marketing plan.

Although there are different components of a marketing plan, according to Jill, the salient ones for growing businesses include:

1. Doing a situational analysis to know where one's business is headed to. She points out that one mistake small businesses make is to jump into marketing without doing enough work upfront. 

Other components she teaches in her book are: 

2. Knowing the target market

3. Marketing Collateral[my favourite chapter]

4. Reaching the target audience

5.Measuring the effectiveness of your marketing strategies, etc.  

One great thing about books, especially non-fiction books, is that the reader learns in hours what it took the author several years to learn, and this is beautifully illustrated with this book. As one reads the book, it is clear that Jill has had experience with small businesses and is talking from the standpoint of experience rather than a theoretical or academic standpoint.

Another thing I love about the book is its easy flow and the fact that it is easy to understand without being too simplistic in its approach to the subject matter.

 Again, I find the conversational manner of the book to be quite refreshing. As one reads, it’s almost like Jill is seated opposite the reader talking him/her through each marketing step. 

It is also clear that buying the book is a fantastic bargain as the reader ends up receiving advice from a marketing expert at a price far below what would have paid if Jill had been invited to consult for one’s business.

I recommend this book to all business owners who are looking to grow their business. It’s a great resource tool worth having and reading again and again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jill Brennan, a marketing consultant, mentor and founder of Harbren marketing, has over 20 years experience in the small business trenches. Her articles on marketing have been published in the Sydney Morning Herald, amongst others. Find out more about her at harbren.com.