Some Businesses To Start On Campus While Still A Student

A lot of students dream of starting their own business some day. Why not start while still on campus? You don’t have to wait after graduation before starting your own business. I wrote an article on Ways Of Making Money While On Campus. You can read it here. This article gives more ways of making extra cash while still a student and possibly can carry on the business after school. That is, you can be your own boss and employ some of your colleagues from school after graduation. Okay now to the business of the day: some businesses to start on campus are:

 

1. Sponsored Notebook Distribution: You can strike a deal with local businesses on and around campus to sponsor the distribution of free notebooks to students with their adverts on it. You can buy the notebooks in bulk and ask the local businesses to pay for advertisement space on the front and back cover of the notebooks. You then distribute the notebooks free of charge to the students. Some local businesses you can go to are the bookstores, restaurants, internet cafes, boutiques, etc… Businesses in turn get their names and services/products to the students.
2. Tutoring Services: If you are very skilled in a particular subject offer to help your colleagues who are not that skilled and have difficulties in understanding lectures. Offer to help them for a small fee. Better still you can go to the high schools closer to your campus and help the students for a small fee. Offer to do extra classes and you will be making a little money with no capital investment.
3. Teach Musical Instrument: Do you know how to play any musical instrument? There are always people who are ready to learn how to play an instrument. So put the word out by doing some posters and posting them around campus and places near campus. You can charge on hourly basis.
4. Cleaning Services: You can team up with other colleagues interested in making some money and do some off-campus cleaning for some companies. Companies pay large sums of money to Cleaning Service Companies so if you can do that at a fraction of the price it will be a win-win situation for the companies and you. Put posters around campus to look for partners who want to join you on this business venture.
5. Computer Maintenance Services: Do you have some computer skills? Or do you know one or two things about maintaining computers? Then put the word out to your fellow students and wait for your phone to ring for you to make some money.
6. Haircut Services: If you have this skill, why not provide your service to your roommates, those on your block and other blocks? You can do this for a small price. At leas this will beat the GHS 2 students pay every month to barbering shops.
7. Promotion Services: Companies are launching new products and services everyday. They need people to promote their new products for them. You can sign up to promote these companies’ products and service either on campus or outside campus. You can gather some of your colleagues and on weekends you go out and promote a product or service for a fee.

I hope the above proposed businesses will help you realize your dream of starting your own business while on campus. You have to start them small with a big vision in mind and then work towards making your campus business your registered business after school and you won’t need to look for a job after graduation but rather provide jobs for other people.

Ways Of Making Money While On Campus

Nothing could be more fun and rewarding than making a few hundreds of cedis when still a student. While there are many money-making opportunities on campus, only a few students are able to see those opportunities. Some students will take those opportunities to make money while others will not due to some factors. In this article, there are going to be four outlined ways of making money while still a student in any tertiary institution in Ghana. But before then one need to learn to identify money making opportunities while on campus. The next article will be on that subject matter so watch out for it.

Some four ways that students can make money while on campus are:

1. Be A Note-Taker: In every class some of your colleagues do not know how to take notes, some are not punctual at lectures and some could not just take comprehensible and logical notes. So if you know you are very good at note taking, buy an exercise book for each lecture, write boldly and eligibly so other students can read. Make announcements in class that if anyone wants a well-written note they should contact you. Better still if you are the shy type you can make a small poster and post it on the department’s notice board. Make a photocopy of your notes available and sell it on a reasonable price to those who want it. And there will be people who will want a well-written note.
2. Recycling: For students who are really serious and ready to take risks can venture into this way of making money. Though it is much more involving the rewards are also good. Ask permission from the school authorities to place bins on campus to collect used bottles, cans and other recyclable used products. Contact the various companies like Coca Cola and reach an agreement with them to supply them with the used bottles. The companies normally have vehicles for these purposes. With thousands of students using bottled products everyday there will be enough used products to return to the companies or even to some recycling companies in Ghana.
3. Write For Your Student Newspaper: If you are good at writing articles then you should consider writing for your school newspaper if your school has one. Do a little research on the subject matter that students are normally attracted to read. Polish your writing skills by reading more on writing or take a course on effective writing.
4. Sell Back Your Textbooks And Lecture Notes: Every semester, there will be a market for buying and selling of used textbooks and previous lecture notes. Freshmen are always eager to buy used textbooks because they are cheaper than the new ones. So write your lecture notes well because it can make you some cash in the near future. Make announcements and post notices around and wait for your phone to ring. You can also decide to be the ‘middleman’ to facilitate the buying and selling of these textbooks and notes.

The above mentioned four ways of making money on campus are not the only ways that students can make money. There are other ways to make money. It all depends on the individual. So get out there and look for some other genuine and legal ways of making money while still a student on campus.

The Solution To Unemployment In Ghana

All developed countries and some developing countries like China, Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa dedicate some percentage of their wealth to educating and supporting their citizens on entrepreneurship. As a result they are enjoying a sustainable growth in GDP and human knowledge and capital. They have citizens and institutions that can compete with the developed world. The combined number of self-made millionaires and billionaires of these developing countries is more than that of the developed countries combined. When China and Russia opened the door for their citizens to take on entrepreneurship, their rapid economic and human development begun.

No government in this world can solve the unemployment issue. In Ghana, different governments tried to find a solution to the unemployment problem but they all failed.  This has become the main issue on which governments can be elected into power or dethroned.

The only way that the developed countries were able to bring unemployment under control was to massively invest in educating their citizens on entrepreneurship. Those governments have funds that can support people who want to venture into entrepreneurship. They have programs that are televised nationally so people everywhere in those countries to get the chance to learn about starting their own businesses.

Though there is a program like that in Ghana, the program is not doing enough. High profile people in society have to be associated with this program. There need to be a nationwide workshop on entrepreneurship. These workshops need to be televised for the whole country to see. Success  stories need to be told to the masses in other to lure more people into entrepreneurship. School graduates need to be encouraged to start their own businesses other than searching for job after school. Entrepreneurship should be taught as a compulsory course in every level of education in Ghana starting from the basic schools to tertiary institutions.

The president need to award people who succeed or excel in the entrepreneurship. National Entrepreneurship Awards needed to be created and promoted by celebrities and prominent people in society. Government need to seriously take action on promoting entrepreneurship in Ghana. Ghana has to be the ‘entrepreneural’ hub in Africa. Ghanaians need to have world class companies that can compete at the international stage for contracts. All these need to start from somewhere. Some well minded individuals too can take on this challenge in order to help instill the spirit of starting one’s own company. Ghanaians need to know how to set up their own companies. Government really need to intervene and make Ghana a better place.

How To Successfully Find A Job In Ghana

With the increasing rate of graduate unemployment, I wonder what will be the fate of the vast majority of Ghanaians who do not have a degree. There is even an Unemployed Graduates Association which signifies the severity of the unemployment issue in Ghana.

There are many Ghanaians with degrees, diploma, professional certificates, and other qualification holders that are struggling today to find jobs. There are job positions in private and governmental institutions that needed to be filled. One needs to know how to look for jobs, find jobs and successfully get the jobs. Some ways of successfully looking for, finding vacancies and getting the jobs are listed below. The list is compiled from top job search and job listing websites, carrier websites and other top job blogs across the web:

1. Online Search : In other to be abreast with new job postings one has to frequently visit job listing sites. There are a lot of job listing sites in Ghana. Just type ‘job search sites in Ghana’ into google search. When on a job search or listing sites you have to limit your search to the category of job you are searching for in other to get relevant results. You can also search by location.
2. Target Institution : Visit the websites of the organizations you would like to work for to see if there are any vacancy announcements. Most organizations won’t list their job postings on job search sites because they don’t want to deal with so many applications. If the organizations  do not have websites then make contact with someone working in these organizations so you can get insider information on job vacancies.
3. Job/Carrier Fairs and Seminars : There are job or carrier fairs and seminars all over town. Some are free to attend and others are not free. Try to save some money and attend as many job fairs and seminars as possible. Some fairs and seminars provide the option of issuing of certificates of attendance to participants. These certificates can go a long way to boost your CV considerably. Most people that give talks at carrier fairs and seminars are really successful people and own or work at great institutions. You can apply for a job at their institutions using the certificate of participation as a bait to lure and convince the institution to employ or hire you.
4. Networking : To majority of people networking can sound intimidating and a little bit scary. They think of networking as attending corporate dinners and chatting and exchanging contact details with people especially those in high positions in big companies. No! networking don’t have to be that way. Simple and less intimidating ways to network is to start from your old school mates especially those that are working. Get to meet them and chat and let them know you are looking for job. Get to make friends with your old school mates’ friends, your friends’ friends and by the time you realize you would just receive a hint from one of your numerous friends for a job vacancy somewhere.

Even though there are fewer job opportunities out there you have to make sure you try your best to find and compete with other for jobs. The earlier you find and apply for the job the better your chances of getting selected. The more jobs you find early and applied for the higher the probability of getting called up for an interview and getting selected by one of the companies.

 

School Fees On The Rise In Ghana

Every academic year there is an increase in tuition and accommodation fees in Ghana and students seems to be unconcerned on this phenomenon. In the next five years how much are students going to pay for tuition and accommodation fees? Not to talk of the books, food and clothing it is really going to be unbearable and even impossible for some to afford education . The current Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana once said ‘education is not for the poor’ when questioned on the increment in fees. About 70% of Ghanaians are poor so I wonder what he meant by that statement.

Though students protested on the increment in fees the only thing the authorities did was to let the students pay in two installments; at least 50% in the first semester and the rest in the second semester. This move was really smart on the part of the authorities. It was a way of playing on the intelligence of students especially those in the University of Ghana.

Government can allocate budget to some projects in the country and some of these projects are less important as compared to education. Why can’t government subsidize and hedge against this annual increment in fees?  It’s about time the whole student population in Ghana take a firm stand on this issue. A peaceful demonstration across the whole of Ghana will send a strong and a serious message to government to do something about the matter.

All student leaders from all tertiary and even second cycle institutions need to put their heads together and take a firm and a resolute action on the way forward.

The world have seen the power of mass demonstration recently in Egypt and Algeria. If all students can come to an agreement on this issue and find a common voice to carry a message of dissatisfaction to the government, all students now and the generations to come will benefit from this action. All students should rise and fight for their right to quality and ‘unexpensive’ education!

Why Some Guys Break Some Girls’ Heart

Majority of girls will have or have had their hearts broken once or twice and for some people thrice or four times before they get married. It’s a norm now to get your heart broken. Though there a may be several factors leading to heartbreaks the most popular causes of heartbreaks are:

1. PLAYERS : Some guys are players and they have intentions of having sex with girls and later on damping them. Its no fault of the girls. Just that they have fallen into a trap set by a player. Some girls know the guy they intend to follow is a player but they still fall for him because players have the qualities that most girls want in a guy. So girls should be on the alert for players that come their way.
2. LOST OF APPEAL : Some girl look hot, sexy and beautiful when they are single because they are looking to attract guys. After they get  a guy they then start to loose the appeal they had when they were single. Guys will always want the best things in life so they set their eyes on other single girls who have more appeal than their current one. So girls should keep up their looks when in a relationship.
3. WRONG MESSAGE : Some girls dress to seduce guys by showing parts of their bodies. Men in nature are attracted towards sexy things so what comes into their minds the first time they see a hot girl is SEX! Nothing more than sex. They do not see any meaningful relationship with ladies who dress exposing their body parts. So girls should dress modestly.
4. SEX OPTION : Some guys are not ready for relationships but they have to satisfy their sexual needs and since the concept of friends with benefit is not popular here in Africa, the only option is to deceive girls into sleeping with them. When done, they have to discard the girls for other exploits. So some girls are just sex options to their so called boyfriends. So ladies should be careful if a guy rushes for sex when dating!

There are other factors that can make guys break girls’ heart. So I advice girls to read more on the subject and be abreast with the tactics. But all the same it is very difficult to tell if a guy is in for love or for sex or even for the money. Ladies beware!

Is Entrepreneurship For You?

Not everyone can be an entrepreneur because of personality issues. Just imagine Jackie Appiah wanting to be a professional footballer. Though it’s possible that she might be able to play football, she would not be able to play as a professional because of so many issues: age, weight, character, etc…

The same scenario applies to people who want to be an entrepreneur. One has to sit down and access their strengths and weaknesses since every human being has them. Even the most successful people in society have their own weaknesses.

Since entrepreneurship involves risk taking, creativity, long term gratification, patience, innovation, ability to handle and work under pressure, it will then be a good thing for individuals wanting to walk that path to evaluate their stance. Anyone who wants to be an entrepreneur must consider and sincerely evaluate themselves on the following qualities:

1. RISK : Are  you a risk taker? Can you risk finding a well paying job with benefits for a venture that might as well fail? Can you risk loosing all your investment i.e. time and money without being seriously affected? Are you willing to take bold steps even in the midst of uncertainty? You have to sincerely analyze your stance on risk taking before thinking of venturing into entrepreneurship.
2. CREATIVITY : In an ever increasing competitive world the ability to drive your competition crazy is key. Can you come up with different ways of doing the same thing? Can you think outside the box to solve a problem? Can you develop an approach to doing something that your competition can’t copy? Can you improve your product or service without increasing cost? It really helps to always be able to think outside the box.
3. PRESSURE : There will always be pressure from customers and colleagues or employees. So your ability to be calm and think clearly will be key in times of trouble. So learn to stay calm and control your anger if you really want to be an entrepreneur.
4. LEADERSHIP : Every entrepreneur is going to lead people so learn some few leadership skills from prominent leaders by reading their books, attending leadership seminars, programmes and workshops. You won’t regret it.

There are other qualities to consider but these are the major ones that needed to be considered. Let me leave you with my favourite definition of entrepreneurship: entrepreneurship is leaving a few years of your life like most people won’t so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Campus Life

The kind of campus life portrayed in movies is far from what the real living on campus is. Some movies especially the Nigerian and Ghanaian movies portray scenes that are fictional and some people believe those scenes to be true; here students will engage in occultism on campus, partying wildly, and girls being sort after by prominent and rich people in society especially the politicians.

Despite not discounting the fact that this may and can be going on across campuses in Ghana I think the movies have masturbated the situation. I have not heard of student gang groups firing guns at each and killing each other trying to prove they run the campuses, lecturers failing students for refusing to go to bed with them or female students seducing lecturers to sleep with them in exchange for good grades. Though some of these may be happening it is not widespread and serious as we have been made to believe by the movies.

In reality, life on campus is really peaceful, calm and interesting where you will meet a diverse group of people. People just as smart and intelligent as you. There is more freedom on campus than you will ever experience anywhere else as a student. The freedom of choice, freedom of association and a whole lot of avenues to express yourself freely without being intimidated by anyone whatsoever. You will have the freedom to choose the time you sleep, eat, learn and the kind of person you want to associate yourself with. The freedom to express yourself is encouraged because everyone is treated as equals on campus. Its just a matter of mutual respect.

Life on campus opens a wide door for you to experience a whole new way of life. How to live with your room mates, how to talk to people and getting your message across to them properly and all other kinds of things you never imagine. Your colleagues could be as old as your parents or as young as your younger siblings but what really matters is mutual respect. Campus life is really interesting and fun and devoid of all the negative scenes shown in movies!

Why Men Are Fascinated With Female Buttocks

I wonder why some men like women that are endowed at the backside. Is it some biological or evolutionary effect for men to be attracted to a mould of flesh at the rear of the opposite sex? So many online researches to understand why men like the opposite sex’s buttocks yielded no convincing result. When I decided to start a direct asking of girls that are endowed at the back, most of them felt so shy to respond to the question. The very few who were able to answer the questions seemed not to actually know why but hinted that men generally liked any round mould of flesh like the thighs, breasts and buttocks.

Recently on facebook,  a girl posted a picture and within minutes the number of likes and comments were really many. All those who commented and liked the picture were all guys with some praising the girl for her ‘voluptuous ass’. Some guys were even leaving their phone numbers and were asking the girl to call them.

Even the men themselves seem no to know the reason why they admire girls with big buttocks. The common answers that were given was ‘ big buttocks makes girls look sexy and hot and that drives them crazy’.

I knew something did not seem right with all the answers that both men and women were giving. Some men too do not like women with big buttocks. These group of men also gave answers that could not explain why they did not like big buttocks. The most common answer was ‘big buttocks look nasty and unattractive to them and they prefer slim or average girls with small or average buttocks’.

The only hypothesis that seems to explain why some men like or dislike big buttocks is the sexual orientation and perception during adolescence. Those whose orientations and perceptions were shaped towards big or small buttocks would later in life prefer big and small buttocks. Factors that seemed to shape those perceptions and orientations were the early exposure to matters concerning size of buttocks either by peers or by other people . Also the exposure to movies and reading materials that in a way  added to the curiosity to find answers to these questions early in life. People may agree or disagree with this hypothesis but the search for the answers to why men like big buttocks will still continue.

Before You Apply For That Job

There is a lot of competition out there in the job market today and the competition is going to get fiercer everyday. Though in today’s world “whom you know” rather than “what you know” may be the criteria for getting a job, we should not discount the fact that some job positions do not obey the “whom you know” rule.

Some jobs that require technical skills cannot be given on a “whom you know” basis otherwise the company or institution will suffer for it.

Before you apply for that job you should know the following:

1. Can that job be given out on a “whom you know” basis? If yes then you better be convincing when writing your CV or attending an interview. You better have other skills that the company can rely on in other departments. You can propose to work without a salary for some two or three months just to convey a sense of seriousness and desperation.
2.  Some jobs that require specialized knowledge do not fall under the “whom you know” category. When applying for these types of jobs you need to stress on the skills that you have since work experience is a new concept to students graduating from school.
3. Know the day to day operation and ‘to-do’ of the job you are applying for. Look for and ask someone with the same job and ask for advice, hints and directions. You can also go online and read everything you can lay your hands on concerning that job.
4. Look for adverts in newspapers and online and acquaint yourself with the requirements stated in the adverts and try as much as possible to meet those requirements.

The job market is becoming competitive so you also need to polish your skills. Learn new skills that you can leverage to get that job. Who would not want to employ someone with different skill sets who can cover up for other colleagues who are absent due to some reasons? In this world now the multi-skilled applicants are the ones getting the job. So go on and learn a new skill.