South African based financial services group, Old Mutual, has acquired a majority stake in Provident Life Assurance Company.
According to the group, the acquisition is subject to regulatory approval of Authorities in Ghana and South Africa.
The decision to acquire Provident Life forms part of the group's strategy to expand its operations across the continent.
Old Mutual currently has interest in insurance businesses and NED bank of South Africa.
How to Start a Foundation
If you're a successful entrepreneur who wants to give back to the
community, you might be thinking of starting your own foundation. But
first, be sure you understand the many demands of running a nonprofit
organization.
Creating a foundation can be rewarding, but it requires much more
than financial support, says Janne Gallagher, senior vice president and
general counsel of the Council on Foundations in Arlington, Va. Among
other things, foundation founders must get up to speed on laws and
regulations, oversee operations, attract donors, and review programs for
possible funding.
Some businesses instead choose to establish a fund through a
community charity, but don't necessarily have the final say in how
money is distributed. For those who want to retain control through their
own foundation, here are several important steps to take: Make the necessary commitment. As Dick Palazzo built
his Tinton Falls, N.J., pet boarding and grooming business, Purr'n
Pooch, he regularly rescued dogs from animal shelters and found homes
for them. As his business neared its 30th anniversary in 2009, his
daughters decided to launch the Purr'n Pooch Foundation for Animals
to further their father's animal rescue work. Because a foundation is
often like running another business, you need true dedication, Palazzo
says.
"You have to have real passion for what you're doing because you're
going to be dedicating a lot of your personal time to the cause," he
says. "If you love what you're doing, I think the success will follow."
His foundation has granted more than $40,000 to various animal
nonprofits and expects to disperse another $25,000 to $30,000 in
January. Related: 3 Simple Tools for Building a Website Fast Get good counsel. An experienced attorney can help
you decide whether your organization should be a charitable trust or a
501(c)3, which is named after the portion of the IRS code defining
nonprofit entities. Although Palazzo says working with an attorney makes
the process easier, you can file the paperwork on your own. Newton,
Mass. law firm Hurwit & Associates, which specializes in nonprofit
law, provides the filing requirements for each state. Create bylaws. The foundation must be governed by a
set of bylaws, says Jeff Hurwit of Hurwit & Associates. They include
provisions for the organization's governance and board selection
process, general decision-making, required meetings, and
conflict-of-interest policies. GrantSpace.org provides a good collection of bylaws information and samples. Develop award criteria. Foundations need to create a
clear set of criteria for selecting funding recipients. "Although it's
not legally required, you want to make sure you're not setting
expectations that people will be entitled to grants without meeting
specific criteria," Hurwit says.
Your foundation should identify the types of programs it will support
and a timeline for applications, program selection and grant awards.
You also may require follow-up reports from funding recipients to
document how the money was used and what impact it had. Related: 'Count Me In' Helps Women Entrepreneurs Increase Revenue Recruit a strong board. A foundation often fills its
board with family members, but that may not be the best approach.
Family members fill all board positions for the Gabe W. Miller Memorial Foundation,
founded by attorney Alan B. Miller in memory of his son Gabe, who died
in 2005 while he was a social work student at the University of
Colorado.
Although Miller likes having an all-family board, he says it limits
fundraising. "To enable larger and a greater number of scholarships and
social service project grants, we may well have to go to a donor board
or sub-board to expand our support population," Miller says. For
example, Palazzo's animal-focused foundation recruited such outsiders as
Nicholas H. Dodman of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at
Tufts University and Brian T. Voynick, a veterinarian who hosts an
animal show on a New Jersey television station. They brought additional
insight, dedicated service and networking opportunities to the
foundation, says Palazzo, who serves with his daughters on the board. Create a sustainable plan. Unless you're
independently wealthy, you're going to need to do fundraising to sustain
the foundation. Miller, for example, raises funds through his
foundation's annual 'Celebration of Life' dinner, as well as direct mail
and email solicitations.
Since 2005, the Miller foundation has given away about $55,000 in
scholarships and $40,000 in grants to social work projects. "We're not
wealthy like that," Miller says. "What we do is raise money from
everyone we know and everyone we can find who is interested in the work
our foundation does." Related: 6 Tips for Staying Supercharged Avoid conflicts. Nonprofits need to prevent
conflicts of interest, such as using the foundation to advance business
purposes. Hurwit says, having the foundation sell products or services
from your business could mean forfeiting your tax-exempt status.
Nonprofits also cannot generally engage in political activities without
jeopardizing their tax-exempt status. Manage funds properly. It's critical to keep the
foundation and your business as two separate entities with different
accounts, Hurwit says. Secure individual employer identification numbers
for each entity and do not comingle funds. If you make a donation from
your corporation to the foundation, clearly state in your corporate
records what the money will be funding. But don't funnel money from the
foundation back into the business, Hurwit says, unless your attorney has
cleared a transaction. He advises that it's best to assume that it's
never permissible.
Do you want to know why some companies are more innovative,
more profitable, command greater loyalty from customers and employees
alike? It’s because they start by asking “why,” according to Simon
Sinek, an ethnographer, author of Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action and speaker (his TED speech is among my favorites).
Holly Lynch started her company with the “why” in mind: Why
do women, who control 85% of consumer spending in the US lead only 4%
of the companies they buy from?
“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it,”
said Sinek. “The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs
what you do. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you
believe.”
Women control the purchase decisions not just for obvious
products and services such as food, home, family, and healthcare, but
even banking, automotive, and travel. Lynch has worked with companies in
virtually all these categories. While working at ad agencies, her
clients have included Dove, Frito Lay, Levi’s, Toyota, among others.he 85 Percent works with companies that believe in bringing
a woman’s perspective into the design and marketing of products aimed
at women. By better understanding why women buy your product, you’ll
make more sales. “The heart makes the decision,” said Lynch. “The head
justifies it.” You need to appeal at an emotional level.
One way companies can ensure that a woman’s perspective
becomes ingrained into the design and marketing of products is to make
sure that women are part of the management team. The 85 Percent also
works with companies on leadership for up-and coming-women (and
sometimes men) in their companies.
Lynch is driven by a purpose: making sure women live up to
their potential to drive economic health. She does this not only in her
business life but in her personal life. She is an angel investor,
advisor, and mentor who helps women entrepreneurs define their “why?”
and build their businesses.
3 Honest Ways to Raise Startup Money
Create a healthy foundation for your business by combining enthusiasm with honesty.
Entrepreneurs tend to exaggerate. They exaggerate the success of
their business when talking to startup investors. They exaggerate the
market potential of their products to find distribution partners. They
exaggerate the soundness of their strategy to recruit employees. Funding
your business without exaggerating isn't easy, but there's a clear line
between optimistic exaggeration and outright fabrication. Here are some
guidelines to help you get your startup off the ground without selling
your soul or spinning a web of lies.
Develop financial projections that are rooted in verifiable assumptions
Venture capital firms and angel investors typically want to see
financial projections that shoot up like a hockey stick. Entrepreneurs
often feel compelled to exaggerate projections to look like their
businesses can reach a billion dollars of market value in a few years.
There's no point in just fabricating a set of projections that aren't
based on reality. One way to build a set of realistic projections is to
start with business drivers that can be discussed and debated with
investors. For example, if you're selling widgets that depend on the
cost of oil, develop a set of financial projections that link market
value to the number of widgets you plan to sell and the changing price
of oil. This will show billion-dollar market value and allow investors
to understand what assumptions you're basing your growth on. Write paychecks that don't bounce, but increase as the business grows
One of the most difficult tasks for entrepreneurs is to convince
talented employees to join the team and stay on the team before their
company is profitable or stable. As a startup business owner, you're
faced with a choice: Pay your employee a market salary (say $150,000 per
year) and take a bet that you can grow the business to justify the
salary, or share risk with your employee by paying a below-market salary
(say, $75,000 per year) plus equity incentives (worth $75,000 or more).
Most experienced entrepreneurs will tell you that it makes more sense
to share risk with your employees until you have funding or until your
product line gets market traction. While this makes sense, it often puts
the entrepreneur in the precarious position of having to recruit
employees by exaggerating how likely the prospects of venture funding
are, how developed the company's strategy is, or how popular the
company's products are.
Employees are usually the first to know when funding
prospects dry up, strategies fail and products don't sell, so it's
better to be upfront about the risks of joining a young company. But
enable new recruits to share in the rewards of business success
immediately rather than waiting for their equity to appreciate. For
example, one clever way to share risk with your new recruits is to
outline a path to increase their base salaries as the business grows.
For example, offer to increase a base salary from $75,000 to $100,000
when the company hits certain milestones, then again to $150,000 when
profitability is attained. Put this in writing in the offer letter. This
compensation plan will cost less than promising to pay out bonuses,
which get spent then forgotten, or subsequent equity grants, which get
expensive for the company if they are granted many times. Get your clients to compete to be first Successful entrepreneurs love to tell stories about how they
got their first client. While working out of a closet or a garage, they
print up business cards with a prestigious address and fancy logo and
close the deal. That's what it takes to sell. Exaggerating the stability
or size of your enterprise to secure your first client is the stuff of
legend. Even if your product isn't ready, you can use a similar approach
to raise money for your business by getting investors and business
partners--who can provide financial support--to compete to be first.
There's a certain prestige in being part of the first group of
investors, partners or customers to help launch a business. Create the
feeling of exclusivity. Require an invitation to use your beta product.
Generate buzz about your product plans and your team among blogs that
investors read. There's less need to exaggerate if you can set
expectations that your product is still being tested among early
adopters.
Three Tips to Start a Consulting Business
Starting a consulting business is one way of drawing on your
expertise and creatively making use of problem-solving skills. It’s a
popular – and potentially lucrative -- avenue for aspiring business
owners. The consulting industry in the U.S. generates nearly $100
billion in revenues each year, according to a Harvard Business School
analysis conducted in 2007. And it's an industry where one can earn
upwards of $400 per hour depending on the work and location, according
to the Association of Management Consulting Firms, a New York-based organization.
"People come into consulting from all different routes," says Andrea
Coutu, a Vancouver-based marketing consultant and founder of the blog Consultant Journal.
If you're ready to hang your own consulting shingle, consider these three strategies to get started. 1. Establish your reputation before striking out on your own.
Ann Quinn spent more than a decade helping midsize, and some small,
companies raise money in and around Baltimore. In 2009 Quinn was working
at an investment bank and had few prospects for the big transactions
the company was after.
But she did begin to work with small companies and nonprofits that
didn't have good advisors to help grow their businesses. It was work she
wanted to do, but it wasn't lucrative for her firm.
So in early 2010, Quinn worked out a deal with her boss where she
would strike out on her own and take on clients her company wasn't
interested in. She agreed to send other business to her old firm for tax
and audit services when it made sense, while the firm would refer small
companies and nonprofits in need of strategy to her.
The expertise she gained from years in the industry and the region
helped her build a reputation and client base that would serve as the
foundation of Quinn Strategy Group, which she founded in March 2010. The business is on pace to bring in $160,000 or more in revenue this year. Related: Two Weeks to Startup 2. Partner with another firm while building your business.
For some aspiring consultants, name recognition is more of an issue than
expertise. In that case, look for an established company where your
ideas will be complementary and pitch an arms-length partnership. It
will allow you to build your name, refine your services and reach
clients you wouldn't otherwise have access to on your own.
"Partnering with others is a good way to get started," advises Maria
Coyne, who heads small-business banking programs at Key Bank in
Cleveland.
That's exactly what Jill Reamer did six years ago. The former
attorney and mergers and acquisitions specialist decided to start her
own company to work with small-business owners looking to sell their
companies or make an acquisition. She formed a strategic partnership
with a two-person consulting firm that did similar -- but noncompeting
work. The deal allowed Reamer to use the name of the established,
respected firm while building her own business, Peak Strategy Advisors.
"It's a tricky balance of having the control and autonomy that drove
you to create your own firm versus the collaboration and give-and-take
you have when you are in a partnership," Reamer says.
She was able to avoid potential problems by signing on as a
consultant, not an employee or partner. She kept her own office and paid
her own overhead costs. That made it easy to part ways and move on
amicably later. Related: Five Creativity Exercises to Find Your Passion 3. Differentiate your services.
After the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, Brad Stern's
multinational employer shuttered the Cleveland office where he worked.
He and his team were told they could move to Chicago -- or leave the
firm. So Stern and five other consultants left and started their own
human-resources consulting firm, Shaker Consulting Group.
Stern, who is president of the firm, says he and his partners quickly
realized they needed to differentiate from their well-established
former employer in order to compete. So, they turned the hiring and
talent management process into a video game, a sort of virtual job
tryout. While it didn't reinvent human resources at its core, it offered
a new twist to the field. Stern recalls how some companies preferred
the umbrella of a bigger firm at first, but his team's new and different
strategy helped win clients, and eventually catch the attention of big
companies.
"It's easy to roll into a me-too attitude of 'I can do that, too, but
cheaper,'" Stern says. "You have to commit to being unique."
And it is important to call yourself a consultant early on, adds
Coutu, whose success starting her own consulting business led to the
blog, four ebooks and her offering an online a course about becoming a
consultant. Previously, she had been working in marketing at a hi-tech
firm in Canada just before the 1990s dot-com boom, and started
consulting on the side.
As soon as her side business grew enough to pay the bills, she went
out on her own full-time and called herself a consultant from the start.
Her colleagues at her former employer left her with a Rolodex of about
100 contacts -- many of whom ended up at new firms when the company
downsized. They funneled work and referrals her way.
"If you want to be able to get full value for what you are offering,
you can't see yourself as a contractor or a freelancer," she says.
How to Create a Winning Business Idea--in Six Easy Steps
I often meet business founders whose minds are overflowing with
brilliant ideas for new products. They seem to develop terrific new
concepts every single day of their lives. They are watchful, always
inquiring, perceptive and continually seeking (and often finding) the
next big thing. Their never-ending challenge is to pick a winner—(only
one!)–out of scores of possibilities, and run with it.
On the other hand, I listen to intelligent and aspiring entrepreneurs
who can’t concoct a single viable idea. These great souls are bright and
earnest, but for some reason, imaginative ideas escape.
Within my circle of friends I see both types of individuals. One is
the quintessential entrepreneur who has developed several companies and
has recently launched a new firm.
The other struggles to envision the next great product everyone in
America would want. From time to time, he asks me if there is a method
to generating a great idea.
Today I am happy to share with you the process for creating a world-class idea, in six easy steps: 1. Infinite Ideas Remarkable new product ideas are
everywhere and there is a limitless supply of concepts waiting to be
commercialized, launched and marketed. They are there to be seen and
pursued by those who seek them. In fact, ideas are available to
everyone, worldwide, and at any moment. In some cases, an innovator in
Israel and a thinker in Palo Alto will be enlightened at the same
moment in time.
Ideas can be small and simple, or large and complex. A passion for a
subject may be the genesis of a compelling idea; derived from time
enjoying a cherished hobby. A new product may result from a tinkerer
who sees an opportunity to transpose an existing concept to a totally
new context. Or someone might envision blending two disparate
disciplines into an entirely new field of endeavor. Special note: for entrepreneurs who have trouble
generating ideas on their own, they can look to universities that have
technology transfer offices. Research universities have a wealth of
ideas awaiting the arrival of someone who can take the products to
market. If an entrepreneur can take a researched idea, validate it in
the marketplace and license it from the university, he or she can
commercialize the product it as though the idea were his own. 2. Knowledge Ideas are generally developed from known facts; not from thin air. Business
builders who generate bold ideas possess a high level of knowledge
acquired by study, instruction and experience. Many high achievers have
benefited from lessons learned from earlier educational and prior career
experiences that have become foundational underpinnings of
understanding.
Ideas are born by listening to customer needs and their perspective
on new concepts; from data gathered on products manufactured and sold;
from marketing research summaries; from the results gained from pilots
of programs, and by observing established procedures. For example, an
employee may see an opportunity to start his or her new business by
automating a labor intensive and costly business procedure, via a
software application that an entire industry may purchase. 3. Connecting the DotsIn
my opinion, genius or idea generation is an epiphany that results from a
person’s ability to mentally connect the relationship between two or
more different but related facts. When joined together, they create a
clear view of something novel which has never been seen, developed or
commercialized before. For example, 60 years ago my uncle H. Tracy
Hall, a research chemist and university professor, invented and
commercialized man-made diamonds. His idea emerged as he noted several
known facts;
When almighty God decided to practice His knowledge of sculpture,
creating out of sand and breathe, a living creature, He had in mind a
plan when He took a rib out of Adam, some call it surgery, and out of it
He created Eve, some call it electronics complaining that almighty has
created the world loudest microphone or speaker but behind it all, the
almighty had a plan. May be they
wouldn’t have liked that Noah if he told them he was building a JHS
workshop but little did they realise his seriousness when they saw that
the cock with its comb, the elephant with its trunk and the fox with its
brush, but such animals did not carry bag and baggage until slain in an
upending disaster but behind it all the almighty God had a plan. So
it came to pass that Joseph served in Potipher’s court and it came to
pass that Joshua locked behind Jerico’s wall and musical merry went
round overcoming the laws of cohesion and attraction, disproving the
laws of gravitation. Neemah went for healing, he ended up swimming,
Jonah didn’t want to save Neneveh’s sinners he ended up a whale’s dinner
but behind it all the almighty had a plan. Until a baby was found
in a virgin’s womb, until a perfect gentleman was hanged on a tree for
the price of all, only then was the J plan fulfilled. A death l
deserved to die, a sentence l deserved to serve, a bill on me to pay was
laid on him that my sins must be forgiven. Who else would have done
this? For it was asked in the assembly of the heavenly host and it
never sounded a rhetoric question, it was a question that needed an
answer but there came no answer for about thirty minutes. The whole of
heaven was in dead silence. The twenty-four elder and the four beasts
were all affected by the question. For God almighty to be sure that his
question was heard and understood, He re-echoed, “who will goo! who will
goo!, who will goo! And save my people? There came straight exchanges
looks. for Gabriel would boldly volunteer but his expectation turned
sour when in a moment he saw Michael’s head going down as if in search
of this hymn book. Who will goo! The words repeated but out of the
silence came a tiny voice. It wasn’t shouting. It was gentle, “I will
go, and I am worthy”. Every head automatically came up to look at who
that warrior was, “I will go”, it repeated. How then can I forget
his last words on the cross,” I was like Banabas, fellow prisoner. I was
with him but I was a murderer and he a righteous man. So the Jewish
custom demanded that one prisoner be released but one thing I knew, I
was a murderer and he a righteous man. But the surprise came when in unison the people shouted, release Banabas! Release Banabas! I nearly protested against their answer. But they wouldn’t listen. Crucify him! Crucify him! They chanted.
So Banabas was freed and was walking on the street of Jerusalem on that
faithful Good Friday. He saw the people trooping to Golgotha and he
followed. On arrival, whom did he see? Jesus on the cross, Banabas
recognized his fellow former prison mate. “but his is unfair” he said,
unfair that he died, after all I am the sinner not he, I deserve to die
not he but in a moment he had been wiped away by the monsterous Roman
soldiers” Then Jesus turning in difficulty looked at Banabas and
said, “Keep quiet you are free, that is why I came that I must die in
your place Yeh! I can see it afar that ragged cross on which my
savior died. The blood so fresh, the drip to wash every sin and save.
That is why he came that he must die in my place. God forgave us all
our sins. He cancelled the unfavourable record of our debts with its
binding rules and did away with it completely by nailing it to the
cross. And on that tree, Christ freed himself from the power of the
spiritual rulers and authorities. He made a public spectacle of them by
leading them as captives in his victory procession. NB: Let the victory procession of Jesus affect your life from today to go. By: Akimbocolumn
They raise their voices And beat their chest They recite verses And lie about Christ He is king! He is Lord! He wants donations but took none Oh Jesus! Oh Jesus! They chant And defame His holy name With their lies and extortion They are foxes in sheep’s clothing Dinning with the weak They are red-eyed in sun glasses Blocking the salvation of the meek And using Christ as a shield To cover their nakedness Which the wise minority have uncovered The cries of the robbed orphans The molested ones by the holy Who shout and claim to bless Have shamed themselves And defamed the Christ The holy name they bear. By: Akimbocolumn
They say they are sons But murdered the sons What moves them is like a curse What moves them is like alcohol That knocks on their heart doors And moves them like trains On roads, not rails Their shame they have swallowed Turned the sons into killers Silenced the loud ones and Indoctrinated the feeble minded And licked the honey of the land But they say they are sons But they say they are democrats But they say they are patriotic But they say they love the welfare of the poor masses Shameless sons of some sluts That are over fed Not with Banku, Fufuo, Tuo Zaafi, Akple Not with drink But with power They shame the soil of their soul But they say they are sons Sons of the soil of the sons they kill. By: Akimbocolumn
Business School
analysis conducted in 2007. And it's an industry where one can earn
upwards of $400 per hour depending on the work and location, according
to the