Monthly Archives: January 2018

A dynamic industry is a growing industry. The features of a dynamic industry are indicators that enable us to know that the industry is growing by their mere presence. The Plateau music industry is a paradox as it is young and old at the same time. It is old in the sense that it has recorded niggard growth despite the relatively long period during which it has been alive.

A growing industry should have people with big dreams and are determined to actualize the dreams by following the narrow path, which inevitably leads to righteousness. It appears that 70% of our artistes prefer the speed lane even when it is obvious that speed kills. In a growing industry the artistes should be patient to learn how to write good songs and make good instrumentation by working with good instrumentalists or good studio engineers. In that wise a growing industry should also have good instrumentalists or studios engineers.

One important characteristic of a growing industry is the presence of analysts/critics. These are those who look at the various components of a piece of music and comment on them. The commentaries can be positive or negative. In a growing industry the person criticized should also be ready to tolerate the criticism in-as-much, as the criticism must be constructive. Constructive criticism can sometimes take the form of reviews. Music review is a hallmark of an industry that is growing.

For one to be a good music analyst he himself must have enough knowledge of the business to enable him succeed. Some have the knowledge but choose not to play. Others have the knowledge and are playing successfully. Others have played successfully and have taken a bow. It is however rare to get a performing musician to criticize the works of his colleagues. Hence the other two are the only ones in a good position to make both positive and negative commentaries about the works of artistes.

In Jos, however, it is difficult to point to a single person that can be referred to as a music showbiz commentator especially in the area of music. Part of the reasons are that certain people don’t enjoy giving unsolicited commentaries or are afraid that certain persons may take it personal following such comments on their projects. Hence tolerance of criticism is also a feature of a dynamic industry as it leads to improvements.

But the seeming non-existence of music analysts in our community could also be due to the absence of a medium of expression. In developed countries there are TV and radio stations dedicated to music. There could also be magazines, newspaper columns or the whole print medium wholly dedicated to the cause. Here we have music shows on radio and TV that do not, however, have provisions for music analysis. This could be because it did not occur to the presenter to make provisions for such. If the community shows it is craving for such, it definitely, will occur to one or two presenters to introduce them in their shows.

This is not to say that the music industry is not growing at all but the chameleon speed is giving a lot of cause for concern. The presence of such crucial rallying points will no doubt increase the momentum of the industry so that we can begin to look beyond Jeremiah Gyang and P-Square.

If you own a small business (that’s not solely internet-based), you should always be on the lookout for ways to grow sales. Whether you’re focused on marketing a product, a series of product groups, or services of any kind, here are 23 ideas to stimulate your own thoughts for generating more revenue:

1. Sell a product one-by-one.

2. Sell similar products packaged together.

3. Sell a “license” to use your product for a defined time period.

4. Sell a “subscription” to your product for a defined time period.

5. Sell a flat weekly- or monthly-fee service.

6. Sell relevant advertising space on your products, in your catalogs, or on your company vehicles.

7. Sell digital information for download.

8. Sell products one-by-one, but on an automatic replenishment schedule.

9. Sell some or all items on a minimum-purchase basis.

10. Sell discounts to others’ products or services.

11. Package your products or services with another company’s similar offerings.

12. Sell someone else’s stuff.

13. Sell refurbished or used versions of your products and services.

14. Allow others to resell or co-market your products and services.

15. Sell a disposable version of one of your products.

16. Lease your product(s) for a defined time period.

17. Sell time: bill by-the-hour for a service related to the products you sell.

18. Sell your products in smaller packaged quantities (if typically 25/per…, sell 10/per at a higher profit margin).

19. Sell your products in larger packaged quantities.

20. Sell your products on your website.

21. Sell your products on multiple, targeted websites focused on individual product groups and customer solutions.

22. Sell access to a seminar where you educate customers about your industry and the solutions you provide.

23. Sell training on your or others’ products.

Of course, this list is just a start. With expertise in your field, think of ways you can separate yourself from your competitors by providing products and services in a manner uncommon in your industry.

The popularity of tattoos is exploding; everywhere I go I see tattoo art on somebody. I’ve wanted one for a long time and yet I want my first to be a unique and original tattoo design. I want the perfect first tattoo after all it may be the only one I ever get. Then I may get the obsession others have and get more. What ever the case I want my first to be original and different, something that turns heads on the street because it hasn’t been done yet.

Going into a tattoo shop to look at designs can be intimidating. The artist inside seem as if they expect you to get that new tat now. They’re much desensitized to giving them and seeing them day in and out. I think they forget how big it can be for a first timer.

So I offer this advice. If you’re looking for the perfect tattoo you can now explore designs and art online. I’ve been looking and have found I can explore all my options while online checking out some amazing stuff. Now it takes me forever to make up my mind and you may be like me. What ever your case is you can take your time and find just the right tat for you by looking through art galleries on the internet.

After you take your time and find the perfect body art for you online you can take it to your local tattoo shop and go in like you know what you’re doing. You will also want to educate yourself on tattoo procedures and watch videos of it to know what to expect. All in all you can do your leg work before you set foot in the shop. This will make you much happier and not leave you with any regret.

I’m having a great time sorting through all the great body art to find the one perfect first for me. I can’t wait but I know I want it to be a special piece that I will look upon fondly forever. So if you’ve been wondering will it hurt, how long will it take and where to find the best and freshest designs the internet is the place to educate yourself.

It’s Summer and that means that people will start coming out of hibernation and frolicking more (at least in the Midwest anyway). From patio to picnic more people will be turning to their phone and performing mobile search to find things to do.

To capitalize, you’ll need to be easy to find. That means it might be time to take a closer look at your mobile marketing strategy. Mobile marketing is more than just having a mobile website. It also means being easy to communicate with via a mobile device.

For example, when I land on your mobile website, chances are all I want to know is if you’re open or not and how to reach you. So, your phone and hours should be front-and-center.

With more than 8.4% of all global websites visits coming from a mobile device, you can’t risk losing me when I stop-by. Make it easy for me, please?

In the last twelve months, customers around the world have ordered more than $1 billion of products from Amazon using a mobile device,” – Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com (July 2010).

I know, I know, that’s Amazon. But you know what, those people that do business with Amazon also do business with you. They have been spoiled by brands like Amazon and now expect something similar from everyone. That’s a trend that will continue.

As smart brands continue to raise the bar, stupid brands will appear even more stupid.

Does not take a rocket scientist to get going either. Here are a few quick tips on how to make your small business more mobile friendly:

1. Keep the most relevant information for customers on the home page and easy to find. Stuff like hours and a phone number are absolute musts.
2. Consider building a mobile version of your website that can detect a mobile device when it’s loaded and serve a special “mobile friendly” website. If not a website, consider at least building a landing page dedicated to mobile.
3. Think about the 3rd-party sites that most often appear in search. Yelp, SuperPages, Facebook all come to mind. Make sure that you’ve updated these platforms as well. They’re gonna show up so you might as well tend to them.

That’s a good start.

Later in the game you start dabbling with SMS campaigns and QR codes and jazz like that. For now, just master these basics and you’ll be more mobile in no time.

For more mobile usage statistics, check out this post.

Have you ever needed to buy a gift for a person, but you didn’t really know what they wanted. Or maybe they are that person who has “everything”. Well, I bet you’ll find something in these gift ideas that they don’t have!

Personalized Mouse pad

You can buy custom printed mouse pads on various websites. Think outside the box and think of a design for the mouse pad that is totally and completely   unique . If you need help designing it, you can probably get a computer geek friend to do you a design with Photoshop.

Custom Cartoons

Another great gift idea is a custom cartoon. You can get the customized cartoon printed on a variety of mediums. The important thing is designing a cartoon that the person will enjoy. If you know the person well, though, that shouldn’t be to hard.

Sabotaged picture

A sabotaged picture? Yep. Also known as a “Photoshopped picture” it’s a picture where you use image editing software to modify a picture or pictures. If you don’t have the necessary skills, anyone with expertise in graphic design should be able to do it for you. The possibilities are endless, too. You could create a picture of them standing next to Elvis, or Ronald Reagan, or anyone they respect but have never met.

Any Customized Gift

There are many gifts that you can get customized so that they are truly  unique . T-shirts, mouse pads, coffee mugs, bumper stickers, ink pens, and screen savers are just a few items that you turn into a  unique , memorable gift.

Photo Mosaic

A photo mosaic is a photograph that is converted into an image made of many smaller images. For example, the mosaic may look like you from a distance, but upon close examination, it is actually made of hundreds of different photos of computers.

In this article we would try to examine some of the benefits of a US bank account to a foreigner or non resident. Why is it that everywhere you go online now be it at the forums or search engines, you see a lot of folks looking for information on this?

This has led to a lot e-books on the topic. Many people are writing and selling this info online. Yours truly even wrote and sold one some few years back. We want to examine some of the reasons for the attraction. What is so   unique  or attractive that many people online are now trying to get a US bank account even if it is a basic one like a savings account?

In answering the question, I want to start by saying the internet has changed nearly everything about the way we live. Gone re the good old day where it was okay to just live within the confines of your geographical locality. Not anymore! Everything has changed, thanks to the internet which has joined us all together to form the so called one global village.

In the past if you had a bank account in your locality, that was enough. Not anymore as you now could easily sell or work all over the world online via the internet. You could now set up a shop online and sell to people all over the world 24 hours a day, seven day a week and 30 days a month, in fact round the year.

With the above scenario, you need a financial system or solution outside of the one in your locality or country. You have now gone international. Hence he need for an account with banks and financial institutions outside your country. When then US and not pother countries? The answer is very simple. The vast majority of online companies, those that matters are all based or headquartered in the US. Just take a look at the top 10 web companies from Google, eBay, Amazon, Facebook, Yahoo, all these are US based.

When you are online working, trading or doing business, you want to be working with the companies that matters. They are all based in the US. When it comes to pay you is when you realize the complexity of the whole thing if you do not have a presence or at least a bank account in the US.

Take for instance you sell online and get your card payments via any of the 3rd credit card payment processing companies like ClickBank, 2Checkout.com, Plimus.com, PayPal, SHARE-it.com, you need a US bank account so that you can get your payment fast. They are all based in the US. Also take for instance that you are an Affiliate marketer, most of the Networks too like Amazon.com, Commission Junction, ClickBank, etc. are all US companies.

The difference between getting paid via a US bank account or its alternative solutions and the customary method of being sent a check is about an interval of 10 weeks. Incredible, but that is the reality on ground. If you have a US bank account, you are simply going to be paid by what they call direct deposits or ACH (automated clearing house) system.

This method takes just 2-3 days and mostly it is free of charge. But for all the others outside of the US who do not have a US bank account, a check would be cut and mailed to you. You get this check in 3-4 weeks depending on your location and then lodge it in with your local bank who again send it back to the US for collection. Remember the checks are drawn on banks in the US and not your local banks. This can take another 3-4 weeks to get back to the US.

In US it goes for clearing, and then if good it is credited to your local bank’s Agent or correspondent account in the US. The agent will now pass the credit to your local bank who in turn will credit your account. In all you would be looking at 10 weeks before you can get the money paid you by the US company.

So what is the solution? Get a US bank account if you want to flourish or make money online. Without this you are doomed and would sooner or later quit the Net out of frustration. I have a US bank account even as a non resident, what happens is that I am paid by ACH or direct deposits and when in 2-3 days the money hits my US bank account, I simply withdraw from a local ATM in my country using the ATM card that the US bank gave me.

This is the main reason many people online are looking for a US Bank account solution or its alternative. they want to receive the monies from their online endeavors cheaply and in a timely manner. They are other benefits like the savings on clearing your checks which could be in the region of $100-$150 per check. Add up that if you get 20-30 checks per annum.

With a US bank account it is easy to sell on eBay, and get paid by PayPal. A lot of people in the US (the number one market) online will find it easy paying you and so on. Hope you have seen some of the benefits of a US Bank account for a foreigner or non resident.