Starting a Talent hunt Business

Breaking into the music, film or modeling industry is a daunting challenge for newcomers. Not only do they have to get their unique talents discovered in the first place but then maintain a steady stream of work that keeps them in the public eye. Talent agents fill the crucial role of go-between in matching the clients they represent with the opportunities available at studios, clubs and special events. Although the licensing, financing and marketing requirements in starting a talent promotion company are the same as any other business, the job calls for an extroverted personality, a strong negotiator, excellent communication skills and boundless patience.

Step 1

Identify what type of talent your promotion business will handle. The niche you plan to fill should be something with which you're already intimately familiar, writes Tom Elliott, author of "So You Want to Be a Talent Agent?: Everything You Need to Know to Start Your Own Local Talent Booking Agency." If, for example, you're a retired dancer or former instructor, you can tell the difference between an accomplished performer and a beginner with two left feet. Your credentials as an expert in your field carry significant weight with the entities with whom you'll network and negotiate to get assignments for your clients.

Step 2

Create a detailed business plan that addresses your access to startup funds, office and equipment needs, utilities, insurance, staffing, transportation, postage and marketing. The U.S. Office of Small Administration website is a comprehensive resource that walks you through each of the steps to becoming an official corporate entity. At this time, you'll also need to decide on a company name, check its availability through your county registrar or state filing agency, register your company and pay the fees to acquire the appropriate business licenses for opening shop.

Step 3

Make a list of prospective markets and the appropriate contacts for bookings at each. If, for instance, your talent pool is composed of actors, your list will include film and television production studios, regional theaters, advertising agencies and corporations that produce in-house training, sales and motivational videos. According to the authors of "Hollywood Dealmaking: Negotiating Talent Agreements for Film, TV and New Media," it's also advisable to familiarize yourself with industry lingo, study contracts language and formatting, and set up a filing system that enables you to quickly access the contact information, resumes and company profiles you need.

Step 4

Establish your talent promotion company's presence through a professional website, mailers, fliers and word-of-mouth. Write articles and blogs to reinforce your expertise, and give interviews to the local media. Conduct auditions to attract talent to your new agency as well as request that prospective clients send resumes, photographs and demo reels for your consideration. Subscribe to industry trade magazines to stay abreast of upcoming talent needs.

Written by Christina Hamlett

Motorists Get Free Fuel In Kaduna State,Nigeria

The station, Samrada Nigeria Limited, located at Romi Junction in the state capital, was said to have a total of 19, 500 litres of fuel which it was hoarding.The agency, led by the Zonal Controller, Usman Ndanusa, during its routine inspection of petrol stations across the state, discovered that the petrol station was also selling above the Federal Government’s approved price of 87 Naira per litre, only at night.The Manager of the filling station however complained of not getting the product from the depot at government approved price, hence they have to adjust their retail prices.The DPR officials also ordered another filling station along Romi Road to reverse to the 87 Naira pump price per litre, as against the 135 Naira it was selling. The owner of the filling station was fined the sum of 100,000 Naira for selling above the approved pump price.The controller explained that the punitive measure would serve as deterrent to other hoarders. He said the agency was poised to ensure that the commodity was properly distributed among commuters.While expressing hope that the scarcity of petrol across the state would soon disappear, as daily supply from Lagos has incresed, the Controller warned marketers to stop hoarding the product or face severe sanction if caught.

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had directed the DPR not to seal off any petrol station but instead to auction petroleum products

5 Steps to Building a Personal Brand

People want to do business with other people, not with companies. Putting a strong personal brand on the frontline of your sales process can dramatically improve conversion rates.

Whether you use your personal brand to consult, freelance, or drive more traffic and trust to your company, it's vitally important to establish one to stay competitive.

Step 1: Determine your area of expertise.

Before you can establish or develop your expertise, you have to decide what you want to be known for. The world of personal branding is flooded with competing entrepreneurs, so it isn't enough to choose a general field like "marketing" or "human resources." Instead, it's best to develop yourself in a very specific niche. With a niche focus, you'll have more opportunities to prove you know what you're talking about, and while your potential audience might be slightly smaller, it will also be that much more relevant. Specificity is a trade of volume for significance.

Step 2: Start writing and publishing.

Once you know your area of focus, it's time to start building your reputation, and the best way to do that is to show off your expertise. Content marketing is the best way to build a brand and reputation online; when people look for information, they tend to go back to sources that were helpful to them. If you can become a trusted source of information through your content, over time you'll become collectively known as the expert of your specific field. It's best to start your own blog and update it on a regular (at least weekly) basis, but it's also a good idea to start guest blogging on other reputable blogs.

Step 3: Flesh out your social media profiles.

If content is the fuel for your personal brand, social media is the engine.Take the time to flesh out the details of your social media profiles, including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and make sure they're consistently in line with your personal brand standards. Post updates regularly (at least once a day for Facebook and LinkedIn, at least a few times a day for Twitter), and don't be afraid to re-post your older content for your new followers.

Step 4: Speak at events and develop case studies.

If you're trying to win the business of your personal brand followers, it's a good idea to work up a few case studies. Work with your past or present clients and co-workers to spin and present a solid narrative. People love real stories more than promises or speculation, so prove what you've done by giving them digestible case studies. You should also consider looking for speaking events in your area, which will give you the opportunity to demonstrate your expertise while connecting with new audiences.

Step 5: Network, network, network.

On social media and in the real world, the key to sparking growth in your personal brand is networking. Engage with other individuals in your field, social influencers who have many connections, and anybody else who could be valuable in helping you spread the word about your expertise. Attend professional networking events to meet influencers in your area, and in the online world, engage in community discussions whenever you can. The more opportunities you have to meet people and talk, the better.

A personal brand is like a garden. Once you lay the groundwork and plant the seeds, you'll be in a great position to eventually reap the benefits. 

Written by Jason Demers

Habits that rich people know that you don’t

 As a financial adviser, I have occasionally found myself feeling envious of certain clients. Not because of their wealth — but because they were disciplined and determined enough to do all the right things that enabled them to accumulate their wealth and, in many cases, retire early. Despite my expertise, I, like a lot of people, sometimes struggle not to do the wrong things that make being rich, let alone retiring at all, a pipe dream.
Financially responsible and successful people don’t build their wealth by accident — or overnight. Becoming rich takes serious willpower and long-term vision. You have to be able to keep your eye on the prize of financial freedom, be willing to sacrifice your present wants for the sake of your future and develop good habits to win. Here are 5 habits you can start putting into practice now.
Start early

As the old saying goes: The early bird catches the worm…or, in this case, gets to retire in style. The sooner you put your money to work, the more time it has to grow. Earning a paycheck, whether you are self-employed or work for a company, means the opportunity to contribute to an IRA, which you should seize ASAP. If you’re fortunate enough to get a job with a company that offers a matching contribution to their retirement plan, you need to make it a priority to enroll in the plan as soon as you are eligible. It can be the difference between retiring early and never retiring.

 Automate
You can be your own worst enemy when it comes to financial success. It’s all too easy to procrastinate and neglect what needs to be done and, meanwhile, give in to temptation and spend more than you should. It’s the perfect recipe for not becoming rich.
The best way to protect yourself from yourself is to automate your savings. That means setting up recurring transfers on a regular basis from your checking account to your savings and investment accounts (or setting up auto deduction from your paycheck to your employer-sponsored retirement plan). This way, you force yourself to avoid bad money habits and save what you would likely otherwise spend. If you haven’t already, set aside 15 minutes on your calendar now to do it. Not later, now. Your rich future self will thank you.

Maximize contributions
When it comes to retirement account contributions, you’ve probably been told to start small and then try to increase the amount by at least 1% every year until you max out. If you’ve been procrastinating, then yes, even a small starting contribution is better than none. The problem is that small efforts can lead to small results. If you want to be rich, you have to save like you mean it. And that means contributing the max amount allowed from the get-go (and at least as much as your employer will match in your 401(k) plan).
This is especially true if you are starting to save later in life and need to play catch up. You might worry that maxing out your contributions will squeeze your cash flow too tightly, but it is easier to get in the habit of spending less if you don’t have that extra to money to spend in the first place. It’s much harder to increasingly scale back your budget year after year to accommodate for increasing contributions.
Live like you’re poor
Have you ever met someone who is unassuming and modest and then were surprised to later learn that they are actually rolling in dough? I had an older client who was stuck in 1983: he wore ugly brown suits and running shoes, drove a beat-up baby blue Volvo station wagon and lived in the same modest house he bought 40 years ago. Turns out, this man was an uber-successful entrepreneur and multimillionaire — and even richer because of his humble habits.
Millionaires are all around us, and many of them are probably not who you would think. This is because they smartly live below their means and save their money rather than showcase it. Of course, it’s easy to live below your means when you have millions, but even if you have far less, getting into the habit of spending minimally now will help you have a lot more later. The trick is adopting a “less is more” mentality and sticking with it, even when your income and net worth increase in the future.
Avoid temptation
The temptation to live large and beyond our means is all around us: TV, magazines, friends, family, colleagues, “the Joneses.” It is nearly impossible to escape the pressure to spend, spend and then spend some more. The problem is that overspending often leads to debt accumulation, undersaving and long-term financial insecurity.
Force yourself to avoid negative financial influences as much as possible. That means going cold turkey: Avoid malls, unsubscribe from all those retail emails and don’t sign up for new ones and say “no” to invitations that you know will cost you.
Then, replace these temptations with things that motivate you.

Diversify your portfolio
Successful investors also know not to put all of their money eggs in one basket—or two baskets, for that matter. They spread their wealth across a variety of investments, from stocks, mutual funds, ETFs and bonds, to real estate, collectibles and startups. A diversified portfolio means that you can potentially take advantage of multiple sources of growth and protect yourself from financial ruin if one of your investments bombs.

Written by Black Hodes

MY THOUGHTS ON THE BIAFRAN AGITATIONS(Part1)

   

Written by Rev Sunday Adelaja

WHAT IS MARGINALIZATION?

I pray that no Nigerian tribe, nationality or ethnic group will experience marginalization.  As I am writing this, there are nations in the world that know firsthand what marginalization means in the real sense.

For a student of history, it is difficult to accept the accusation against Nigeria that Nigeria has not been fair to the Biafran nation. As I have said above, the Igbo people and the Biafran people have occupied every political, economic and military position in the Nigerian nation. A fact that should become a thing of pride for Nigeria is that Nigeria was able to assimilate the Igbo nation back into the Nigerian entity faster than most countries in the world who went through civil war.

In most countries where there has been civil war, the vanquished are always oppressed and marginalized for many years after. Usually, these people groups don’t enjoy the privileges of equal citizenship for decades after the civil wars. Even in most of the countries that we look up to as epitomes of democracy today, things did not go smoothly with them after their civil wars.

The country most of us like to refer to the most as our flagship is the United States of America. Their civil war ended 150 years ago, yet even today when you go to the southern part of America, you still hear them call the northerners names. That is where the name Yankee comes from. That is the abusive name the southerners used to call the northerners. Even today there are still conflicts, arguments and debates about the confederate flags in America 150 years later. Confederacy is what the southern part of America that lost the war was called.

So, integrating a nation after a civil war is a tough process. I have personally been in cities in the southern parts of America where I have been told, northerners are not welcome in their towns and villages. I from Nigeria was welcomed, but they were not ready to allow those from the north to come to their land. Such is the nature of civil wars almost everywhere, integration and reconciliation is always a tough process. The same thing happened after civil wars in Greece, Italy, Austria, Spain, Nicaragua, Germany, Finland, Russia, Mexico, China, India, Great Britain, Argentina, France, etc.

If you study the history of civil wars, you will discover that Nigeria has become one of the most successful countries in integrating back into the nation the secessionists. Can you believe that immediately after the Nigerian civil war finished in 1970, instead of the Federal Government of Nigeria imprisoning or killing by firing squad all the leadership of Biafra, who took the nation to war, they rather forgave them and accepted them back to a United Nigeria? In the words of the then Head of State, there was “no victor no vanquished.” Meaning Nigeria was not going to treat the Igbo people as a defeated enemy, but as brothers and sisters. That was a high level of magnanimosity displayed by the Nigerian nation.

Moreover, all Biafran people were given a twenty pounds stipend to start their lives again. That could be viewed as small or nothing today, but when you study other nations where there had been civil war, you will hardly see or hear of any gesture like that. I recently read an article written by an Igbo man in America. He said 40 years ago the richest Igbo was twenty pounds, while today they are prominent in the list of the richest Nigerians. What he was trying to say is that, this is mainly due to the gifts and business acumen of the Igbo people. While that is true, remember what I said above, that it is also important to have the right environment. They were only able to attain that height, thanks to the fact that the Nigerian nation allowed it. This is normally not the case in countries where there had been civil wars. When we are loved, we have the tendency to think that it is because we are good, but really it is because those who love us are good.

The Nigerian government did so much to remove any trace of segregation from all Nigerian peoples immediately after the civil war. The Igbo people were quickly absorbed as part of the Federal government of Nigeria. In the western part of Nigeria, the properties of Igbos who left to join Biafra were kept intact and later returned to them. Soon after the civil war, the Igbos benefited immensely from the Udoji award, which was a gesture by the Federal Republic of Nigeria when the newly discovered oil money was used to give Nigerians a financial boost. This provided a huge lift for all Nigerians and the former Biafrans in particular.

Just ten years after the civil war, Nigeria did something that has hardly been recorded in the history of civil wars in the world. The Nigerian state decided to forgive the initiator of the civil war itself, Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu. He wasn’t just forgiven, he was given political pardon so much that he could now participate in the nation’s political process. He was accepted back as a hero and soon participated by running for political office. That is something unfathomable after civil war. Such individuals were normally assassinated, their relatives and families banned into exile for life, if not for generations to come. Ten years after the civil war, the second most powerful person in Nigeria was an Igbo man, the Vice President Dr. Alex Ekwueme. Hardly will you ever find a more tolerant approach in the whole world.

Some of my Biafran friends might say, but since the civil war we have not produced a President, well if we are talking about the Igbo people, that is true. But if I were to take sides with the Biafran agitators who claim that the South-South is part of Biafra we could say it has, because the South-South just produced a President in the person of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

Let’s look at the history of the United States of America after their civil war. Even in the so-called most democratic nation of the world, it took another 80 years for the south who were defeated in the war to produce a nationally elected President. This is not counting Andrew Johnson who replaced the assassinated Abraham Lincoln. The first person to be elected nationally was Harry S. Truman 80 years after the war. Of course in Nigeria, I hope it is not going to take so long, but what I am trying to say is that there are processes that have to take place. Nigeria has done beautifully well in comparison to these countries that have gone through civil wars.

Okra Water Cures Diabetes and Asthma

The name okra is most often used in the UK, United States and the Philippines, with a variant pronunciation in Caribbean English and Nigeria of okro. The plant and its seed pods are also known as “lady’s fingers”.
A cup of raw okra has 30 calories, 3 grams of dietary fiber, 2 grams of protein, 7.6 grams carbohydrates, 0.1 grams of fat, 21 milligrams of vitamin C, around 80 micrograms of folate, and 60 milligrams of magnesium. This makes okra a nutrition hero and a very available food when it comes to our health.
Whether you consume okra boiled, stewed, fried, or even in pickled form, you can reap the health benefits of this green vegetable any time of the year.  It’s Alleviates Asthma, lowers cholesterol, boost immune system, prevent kidney diseases  and most important Okra is an herb that is really effective in patients with diabetes. . It is proven that it can reduce the amount of glucose absorbed by the food through you gastrointestinal tract.
Here’s one simple recipe how you can use okra, to control your blood sugar level naturally:   Take 2 fresh okra and cut their heads and tails. Put 2-3 cuts and dip them in a glass of water at night time. Drink that water 30 minutes before breakfast. It will control your sugar level.

Source: www.health.com

Arsenal win keeps their hopes alive

Alexis Sanchez scored twice and Mesut Ozil headed the other goal as never-say-die Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 on Tuesday and kept alive their hopes of reaching the Champions League last 16 for a 16th straight season.

The Gunners, whose chances of advancing looked remote after defeats by Dinamo, Olympiakos Piraeus and Bayern Munich in their opening four matches, were given a huge helping hand by Bayern Munich who thrashed the Greeks 4-0 in the other Group F match.
Those results mean that Bayern are through to the knockout round and Arsenal will join them if they beat Olympiakos by two clear goals in Greece on December 9.
Bayern have 12 points, Olympiakos have nine, Arsenal are on six and Dinamo have three. If Olympiakos gain at least a point against Arsenal they will go through instead of the London side while Dinamo are already eliminated and will finish bottom.