Resources

There are SO many options out there, in regards to resources, services and products that you can utilize to help start and grow your business – the problem is, I haven’t come across great ones for Nigeria/Africa (if you get my drift). So I thought it would be a good idea to put together a list of helpful resources that you can always come to for all your small lifestyle business needs. The world is moving fast and these resources can help you move with it.

Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links, at no additional cost to you; and I may receive commission if you decide to make a purchase. However, these are resources that I’ve used in the past and continue to use; and some are helpful and useful resources recommended by entrepreneurs I know and trust. Thank you for reading!

MY RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

GETTING YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE

download WordPress – I know there are so many blogging tools out there – but WordPress is by far the best, it is easy to use, easy to customize, and there are 100s of free and paid themes to choose from. If you are new to the world of blogging, I strongly recommend WordPress because you don’t need a designer or developer to help you create a website or personal publishing (blog), you can do it yourself with WP.

Bluehost – Hooray! today (Jan 1st, 2015), I decided to host this blog with bluehost. I know several people who are hosting with bluehost and they love it; and now I am one of them. It’s affordable, great for your WordPress blog and website, the dashboard is really easy to use, it comes with a free domain name also and you can host more than one website/blog in one package. If are you interested please click this link to get a special offer. Also you can watch this short video tutorial by Chris Ducker to learn how to build a wordpress blog with bluehost.

Webflow – I am a web designer/developer (more of a designer), and about 50% of my webdesign projects are done with WebFlow. I have tried so many drag-and-drop website builders/do-it-yourself platforms, but I prefer WebFlow. Why? because WF accommodates all my needs as an individual and a designer, I can create really great landing pages and professional responsive websites for my business and for my clients, and webflow provides hosting for free and you can upgrade to a price plan starting from $14.99/month (₦2,683), for more features. I recommend for freelance designers and developers, and agencies with numerous web projects. Click here to see what a webflow page looks like. And yeah! great customer service, it works in Nigeria and they accept Nigerian bank cards too.

Hostgator – In the last few weeks, I have been reading great stories about hostgator, and as I like to try new things, to be able to recommend to others, I signed up to host one of my website with hostgator. The signup process was easy, and it’s made available for users here in Nigeria and Africa. Click here for a special discount.

Wix.com – I designed my first camp website and my pageant website in 2012 with wix, but I had to transfer the website because of problems with the page speed – I’ve been told it’s better now – so maybe I will try it out soon. I like wix because it’s absolutely easy to use and anybody can design a website with wix (well! maybe not) – but if you can use Microsoft word and PowerPoint very well, I’m sure you can use wix too.

GoDaddy – 80% of my websites are hosted and registered with GoDaddy – makes registering domain names fast, simple, and affordable.” I don’t think a lot of people in Nigeria know about GoDaddy, you can save money with them. Funny Story! – An agent from a very popular telecommunications services company in Nigeria, tried selling a domain name and hosting to me. Their offering was ridiculous and very expensive, and then I told him that I registered my domain name and hosted my website with godaddy for $2 for 2 years (approx. ₦358); he asked me not to share the information with anybody, the guy was afraid he won’t make any sales and will lose his commission. Of course I can’t do that, I hate to see people get ripped off.

iWebStudio – If you are not cut out for all the ‘do-it-yourself website builders’ (probably you are too busy), you can hire a pro you can trust to handle all your web projects. iWebStudio is a subsection of Smart Biz Services, which deals with all the web/creative designs; We have a team of trusted and experience designers you can hire to design, manage and maintain your websites, e-commerce sites and blogs. We will be launching SBS and iWebStudio this January, and we are offering a free website review – to get your website and blog reviewed for free please click here. Check this page for more information.

SELLING ONLINE

BigCommerce and Shopify – I have noticed more people are selling online now in Nigeria via Facebook and Instagram. You can start selling on your own online store ASAP with Bigcommerce and Shopify – the biggest software solutions and shopping cart software for online businesses. Both offer free 15 day trial, and free tools and features, and you can start selling your product today if you want. I have created stores with both, and I love it. It’s free, but if you need more features and a custom domain name, you’d have to pay a small fee per month or per year – it’s worth it. My next stop is magento – I’ve been looking forward to designing with them. You can also hire a Smart Biz/iWebStudio pro to design a bespoke e-commerce website or improvement for you.

Click here to get a special offer from Shopify – Shopify makes it easy to open an online store by providing all the tools and help you need. Click here to try it for free!

PayPal – Great news! – PayPal works in Nigeria (direct link to PayPal Nigeria). You’ve all heard of it, and used (if you haven’t – then sign up now). I trust Paypal and I use it for all my online payments/transactions, including my online store.

Supadupa – I first heard about supadupa from users at Enterprise Nation Start-up Saturdays Class (a one-day start-up class for people who want to start their own business in London). It’s also a DIY platform with over 45 professionally designed, ready to use eCommerce themes; and I have heard good things about it, you know me, I’m going to try it out soon.

E-Junkie – I have not used this yet (YET), but I know people who have – E-junkie provides shopping cart and buy now buttons for websites. So if you’d like to start selling products and services including downloads on your business website, blog, Facebook and Google plus, then go ahead and try it before me – I know what it does, and how it works, I can provide some tips, and you can tell me how great it is when you’ve used it.

PROFESSIONAL & PERSONAL IDENTITIES ONLINE

About.me – I love about.me, not only because I get loads of compliments from great people I don’t know, including the founder; but also because the service allows me to automatically link my multiple online identities and social media pages, Check out my profile. I have also linked it to my WordPress blog (that’s what you see on the sidebar of this blog). Every entrepreneur needs a professional identity online – and this is a great one.

Gravatar – stands for Globally Recognized Avatar – I also have a profile/biography with gravatar. I use interchangeably with About.me for my WordPress blogs (WP has a built-in support). Click here to read about how it works and why you need it. If you want to be identified on the web, then you should get a gravatar account.

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT TOOLS

Pagemodo – This has to be my favourite SM management tool, and I have not been paid to say this. This is what I use in managing and scheduling updates and post for all my businesses social media pages. It’s simple and easy to use, plus you can make your post very fun and engaging, with their customizable pictures, contents and quotes. You can also create great facebook pages with their templates, and many more.

Klout.com – I use this side by side with pagemodo, the only difference between the two, is that Klout has great up-to-date contents tailored to so many different industries. If you choose to schedule a post on your social media pages about “Startups,” you are guaranteed to find great contents on that topic. However, it doesn’t have images and infographics as pagemodo.

Hootsuite – This is a free social media management tool that makes it way more easy to manage all your social media pages, in one platform. I use it personally and for my clients’ multiple networks and profiles. The dashboard is easy to use and well organised, and you can schedule updates way in advance. You can upgrade to a premium plan for more features.

SumAll – This is another social media platform that I came across and I find it very useful too. SumAll is a social media analytics and business dashboard, all for free.

IMAGE & PHOTOS

A few years ago, I asked a graphic designer in Nigeria to design a logo and flyer for me; and when he did, I noticed that all the images he used were from Google Images – and that was the last time I worked with him. This is very common with freelance designers and agencies in Nigeria. You could get in trouble (lose money) for using any images you pull from the internet – the designer won’t, but you (the business) will, so be careful who you outsource your creative design work to. I stay safe by designing my own images and outsourcing to designers that I know and trust; and sometimes, I either get free images from Flickr Creative Commons, Free Digital Photos (one of my favorites) or purchase royalty-free images from iStockPhoto and free digital photos, for my websites and blogs. I also recommend you read The Ultimate Guide to Finding and Using Images On Your Blog – by Pat Flynn.

START-UP SUPPORT & OUTSOURCING

Shell Livewire Nigeria – This is a social investment programme that provides finance and training for young entrepreneurs to set up and grow their business in Nigeria – yes I said Nigeria! You can sign up if you need support – if you are a professional trainer interested in helping others start any business, you can register to become a Shell Livewire Nigeria trainer.

Virgin Start-up – This is a not-for-profit Virgin company founded by Sir Richard (of course). They offer financial support, mentoring and business advice to thousands of young entrepreneurs across the UK. So why have I listed it? Well if I know Sir Richard well, I’m sure he will be expanding soon to Africa, and apart from that, there’s so much to learn from this website and blog.

Kickstarter – This is a global crowd funding platform for creative projects (what is crowdfunding). kickstarter is a stress-free way of raising money for any business idea in one of the following areas: film, music, art, theater, games, comics, design, photography, technology. There are so many creative people and ideas in Nigeria, and I’d really like to encourage you all to start a project too. click here learn how to start a project. For crowdfunding success, I recommend you read crowdfunding secrets: 7 tips for kickstarter success.

MySmartBizandMe – What does it do? you are looking at it. This is where I use my experience and skills to support entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs. The aim of this blog is to share my best practices with you, and resources that works for me that could work for you too. If you find the resources I have recommended useful, I’m pretty sure you will find the whole blog useful. You can follow the blog for updates on new post and events; and also communicate directly with me, if you need any help and advice.

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ONLINE VIDEO & PRESENTATION SOFTWARE

Powtoon – For cool animated videos, ads and presentations, try powtoon– an online budget animation and business presentation software tool, and it’s free. It is very easy to use, and absolutely cool, and the design portal is just like a Microsoft PowerPoint but cooler. However, with a free plan you won’t be able to download your work, you can only upload to YouTube and your website, and it will have the powtoon watermark. I don’t see anything wrong with a new start-up using the free plan, you should be thinking of reducing cost when starting out; but if you are an established company – you should go for a paid plan without the watermark – you don’t want to look cheap.

Prezi – I have been using Prezi since 2012 – I love it, and it’s so easy to use. Prezi is a cloud-based presentation software and storytelling tool for presenting ideas on a virtual canvas – meaning you can present from your browser, desktop, iPad, or iPhone and always have the latest version of your work. Ditch boring old PowerPoint slides, open a Prezi account and start enjoying presenting for real now.

EMAIL MARKETING & NEWSLETTER

Mailchimp – This is an online email marketing solution to manage contacts, send emails and track results. I have experience using mailchimp, I have used it to help clients send out newsletters to their clients/customers – it’s easy to work with, and the templates are gorgeous – and I recommend.

Sumome – This is a free tool that can be used to grow your website/blog’s traffic by engaging your readers. The SumoMe tools can work on any website, all you need to do is install it on your website or blog and it starts work. Easy to install too – but it only works with WordPress.org not WordPress.com.

Aweber – I quote Chris Ducker “If you’re serious about creating a long-term virtual business and making money online, you need to start building an email marketing list – NOW!” I recently opened an account with Aweber – an email marketing and autoresponder software, and I look forward to sharing my progress. Click here to sign up too.

ONLINE COURSES & TRAINING PROGRAMS

Lynda.com – Lynda.com offers a wide range of online video training course including the following topics: business skills and management, SEO, online marketing, social media advertising, audio and video editing, project management and many more. You can find the topic you need to improve your personal and professional skills.

Enterprise Nation – This is a UK based community for business owners and budding-entrepreneurs. The provide resources, events, and a campaigning voice to help small businesses in the UK flourish. I have been to a couple of their start-up classes – it doesn’t matter if they only help UK entrepreneurs, I use the information to run my businesses in Nigeria.

Fizzle – This is an online business training by experts, with the mission to help online business entrepreneurs grow their business, and revenue. It’s not free, you’d have to pay a membership fee to access the training. I am a member and I recommend it because it’s well worth-it and failure is not an option, and I know you feel the same.

mySmartBizandme events – I’ve prepared myself for this for a year now, but I procrastinated, I’ve became too busy and overwhelmed by projects, I also had the entrepreneurial fear (self-doubt and all, If you catch my drift). I have managed my time effectively now, kicked procrastination and fear out of the window, I am ready to spread my wings again. I’m excited to announce that my web-based and Instructor-Led training program will be coming soon to you in Nigeria, from January 2015. I am very excited about it, and I’d like to offer FREE Business start-up training course and mentoring to five lucky entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs. Please keep watching this page for details on how to win the free course, and for more updates.

BUSINESS START-UP BOOKS I RECOMMEND

Trump University Entrepreneurship 101: How to Turn Your Idea into a Money Machine by Michael E. Gordon. I do love this book, and you’d confirm it if you saw my copy. I learnt so much the first time I tried starting a business, and to be honest I got my courage up after reading the first few pages. You can get a copy from amazon, or borrow mine, but I must warn you – its messy, contains multiple color highlights and personal notes.

My new business by Wendy Kerr. This is a busy woman’s guide to business start-up success – with practical advice on so many parts of running a business – my favorite part is the chapter on how to juggle running a business and motherhood. I don’t have kids yet, but her advice will come in handy when I do. I recommend this book and Wendy’s Blog to female entrepreneurs and mompreneurs; she’s been there, done that – and she has years of experience helping women start their own businesses.

Start your own business in a week (teach yourself) by Kevin Duncan. I read this book because I needed a quick refresher course before going into a new start-up project. I didn’t buy it, I borrowed it from the library – I guess I’ve got good eyes, because it’s a great book, with few chapters – can be finished in a day. Ideal if you need practical guidelines and advice on how to start your business asap.

Start a successful small business by Vera Hughes and David Weller. This is another ‘teach yourself’ book that I quite enjoyed reading. This book is the bestselling guide for anyone who is thinking of starting their own business – again! I’m not paid to write this, this is an honest review. I put the advice and insider tips into practice, and it’s worked for me, that’s why I’ve included it in the list.

The $100 Start-up by Chris Guillebeau. I haven’t read this book yet, still waiting for my copy. I’ve learnt a lot from Chris’ blog, and I figured this book will be a good read too. It is my next read, so stay tuned I will leave a review soon.

Rich Dad’s Before You Quit Your Job by Robert T Kiyosaki. No! I haven’t read this book but my fiance has – He bought it because he’s going to fire his boss soon to become his own boss, and he won’t stop telling me how good the book is. Not only that, he won’t let go of the book so I can get to read it too, and I don’t see the point of having two copies. I have decided to wait for him to get bored of it, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon. So yeah! if you are thinking of quitting your job soon to start your own business – I think you should get the book too, I heard it’s a great book.

SELF – PUBLISHING & eBOOK SOFTWARE

Blurb.com – It’s a self-publishing platform – you can create and publish your own book, ebook, magazine and also sell and distribute globally with print on demand or offset printing. Have I used it? No! but I’m a former student of Enterprise Nation start-up class, and I met so many people during the course who have used it. I will definitely self-publish with blurb in the near future, It’s affordable – you can publish 20 pages of small square photo book for £8.99 (approx. ₦2,508) or a PDF digital file for £3.59 (approx. ₦1000).

OTHER BUSINESS BLOGS I RECOMMEND

This are my go to blogs for small lifestyle business advice and tips:

Chris Ducker – This is where I spent all my time online before starting mine, and I still do.
Smart Passive Income by Patt Flynn – Also where I spent all my time online before starting mine. The blog is very similar to Chris Ducker’s.
Chris Guillebeau another brilliant lifestyle/online business blog to follow.
Tilly’s DIY blog so my blog is very different from Tilly’s, but I recently started learning tailoring and I get few tips from her blog – and I also got few tips for this blog. Guess what! she’s published a book too, and she’s a successful lifestyle business entrepreneur – so I strongly recommend it to all entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs.
WealthResult This is the only blog in Nigeria that I go to – the blogger has amazing ‘How to’ post. So if you are looking for a business idea in Nigeria, or how to start up a particular business in Nigeria, you should check it out.