Tuesday 21 October 2014
Learning Opportunity
Monday 30 June 2014
Investment Knowledge - Books
In the business world its wise to start early. The best starting point is by gaining knowledge. Read widely and gain relevant information on a large business base as possible. Within a short while you will discover your field of interest that perfectly fits your capabilities and resources. There currently exists many entrepreneurial books for starters, they are the building blocks for an investment brain. An ideal investment does not have to be complex as they come, this is what many pyramid schemes bank on to lure their clients "the mystery to super profits in investment that only they understand" an ideal investment is the one whose fundamentals can be understood by all with ease.
My personal favorite is 'Rich Dad Poor Dad" Robert Kiyosaki, its all about the lessons the rich teach their kids about money, which, according to the author, poor and middle-class parents neglect. Robert Kiyosaki's message is simple, but it holds an important financial lesson that may motivate you to start investing: the poor make money by working for it, while the rich make money by having their assets work for them. We can't think of a better financial book to buy for your kids.Like our FACEBOOK page and get a free copy of this book.
The more you know, the more you'll be able to incorporate the advice of some of these experts into your own investment strategy. This reading list will get you started, but it is only a fraction of all the great resources available.
1. "The Intelligent Investor" (1949) by Benjamin Graham
2."Common Stocks And Uncommon Profits" (1958) by Philip Fisher
3. "Stocks For The Long Run" (1994) by Jeremy Siegel
4. "Learn To Earn" (1995), "One Up On Wall Street" (1989) or "Beating The Street" (1994) by Peter Lynch
5. A Random Walk Down Wall Street (1973) by Burton G. Malkiel
6. "The Essays Of Warren Buffett: Lessons For Corporate America" (2001) by Warren Buffett and Lawrence Cunningham
7. "How To Make Money In Stocks" (2003, 3rd ed.) by William J. O'Neil
8. "Rich Dad Poor Dad" (1997) by Robert T. Kiyosaki
9. "Common Sense On Mutual Funds" (1999) by John Bogle
10. "Irrational Exuberance" (2000) by Robert J. Shiller
My personal favorite is 'Rich Dad Poor Dad" Robert Kiyosaki, its all about the lessons the rich teach their kids about money, which, according to the author, poor and middle-class parents neglect. Robert Kiyosaki's message is simple, but it holds an important financial lesson that may motivate you to start investing: the poor make money by working for it, while the rich make money by having their assets work for them. We can't think of a better financial book to buy for your kids.Like our FACEBOOK page and get a free copy of this book.
The more you know, the more you'll be able to incorporate the advice of some of these experts into your own investment strategy. This reading list will get you started, but it is only a fraction of all the great resources available.
1. "The Intelligent Investor" (1949) by Benjamin Graham
2."Common Stocks And Uncommon Profits" (1958) by Philip Fisher
3. "Stocks For The Long Run" (1994) by Jeremy Siegel
4. "Learn To Earn" (1995), "One Up On Wall Street" (1989) or "Beating The Street" (1994) by Peter Lynch
5. A Random Walk Down Wall Street (1973) by Burton G. Malkiel
6. "The Essays Of Warren Buffett: Lessons For Corporate America" (2001) by Warren Buffett and Lawrence Cunningham
7. "How To Make Money In Stocks" (2003, 3rd ed.) by William J. O'Neil
8. "Rich Dad Poor Dad" (1997) by Robert T. Kiyosaki
10. "Irrational Exuberance" (2000) by Robert J. Shiller
Friday 20 June 2014
Please note we are on Facebook a group called Entrepreneur- Kenya, join us, let us interact and grow together.
Wheat Farming
I have been asked about wheat farming many times and how I have managed to survive farming for years despite the ups and downs. Farming remains one of the most viable business for youth to engage in, this is simply because its a quick start up and requires low capital depending on the size of your venture, but did you know that with the current advances in agricultural methods and growing population (demand for products) this could be a very profitable venture.
I will briefly take you through my journey of six years . In a group of three armed with capital from the Youth fund and personal savings we ventured into wheat farming in Mau Narok. Wheat farming is a big industry in the country but run by a few people.This is because it is most profitable when done in large scale, few people have the capacity to engage in large scale. There exists two types of farmers, the large scale farmers well organized with farm machinery, practicing modern farming methods and farming large tracts of land and small scale farmers who mainly own the land, practice mixed farming. But there exist another group of farmers, for lack of a better word they are the medium scale farmers, they visit wheat growing areas rent land, farm, harvest and sell produce I fall in this class, I have practiced this since 2007, missing two years 2008 and 2009 for obvious reasons and drought.
But did you know, Wheat production done in the country annually does not meet consumption demand to an extent of the country importing wheat?
To farm wheat you have to get your budgets well from the onset, the key to success is planting at the right time, spraying and harvesting at the right time. Wheat is not affected much by lack of rainfall, its a member of the grass family and with adequate rain for the first two and a half months during growth the production will be good.
Currently the biggest challenge to wheat farming is wheat rust. KARI is aiming to produce resistant varieties, together with use of sprays the disease can be fairly controlled. The other danger is doing the right thing at the wrong time, when you plant late then the rains are erratic your production will be low, if you dont spry your harvest is affected by disease, if you harvest late and the short rains find your grains in the farm, the grains germinate while in the stock!
The average and fairly profitable land size is 10 acres and more, you still make money with lesser land but don't enjoy the economies of large-scale production. this include during spraying the 3,000ksh mentioned bellow and seeds go paltry more than one acre, with this excess you have more acres done almost free..
An Acre of land produces an average of 15-23 bags of wheat. A bag goes up to 2,900ksh to 3,300ksh
Cost of production per acre this year (2014) was 21,500 ksh see break down below. At an average return on 19 bags per acre and selling a bag at an average price of 3,100ksh per acre you have a gross return of 55,000ksh per acre on a good harvest.
Narok is currently the undisputed bread basket.
Costs Break Down...................................................................................................
Procedure
Identify a farm: visit your target area and identify a farm and pay rent fees. Due to demand for good land this is done an year before the farming year. This is the starting point, with a good point man on the ground you can get good and genuine land. Good land does not flood and is not on a water path. Get an experienced farmer to advice you or share his contacts, the cost of land rent per acre in a year is 4,000 to 5,500ksh.
Farming; land preparation starts in January, this includes ploughing and farrowing. Ploughing costs up to 3,000ksh per acre, harrowing costs 2,500ksh.
Planting: this is done at the onset of the long rains in march planting at the right time is key because of unreliable rainfall patterns. A bag of seeds goes for 3, 000ksh for an acre of land, a bag of fertilizer goes for almost the same amount 3,000ksh, there are always rumors that the government would subsidize the costs its always wise to prepare with all amount. Currently the government agencies are improving the seeds due to the wheat rust disease its always wise to buy packed seeds as opposed to the previous years harvest for seeds.
Spraying: due to diseases spraying is done on signs of infection, spraying per acre costs up to 3,000ksh.
Harvesting: this costs 2,000kshs per acre.
You can get back to me for a detailed proposal for individual or group fund raising, on how to venture and succeed in wheat farming and also why some tried and run never to look back...........centerprises4@gmail.com or through facebook
I will briefly take you through my journey of six years . In a group of three armed with capital from the Youth fund and personal savings we ventured into wheat farming in Mau Narok. Wheat farming is a big industry in the country but run by a few people.This is because it is most profitable when done in large scale, few people have the capacity to engage in large scale. There exists two types of farmers, the large scale farmers well organized with farm machinery, practicing modern farming methods and farming large tracts of land and small scale farmers who mainly own the land, practice mixed farming. But there exist another group of farmers, for lack of a better word they are the medium scale farmers, they visit wheat growing areas rent land, farm, harvest and sell produce I fall in this class, I have practiced this since 2007, missing two years 2008 and 2009 for obvious reasons and drought.
But did you know, Wheat production done in the country annually does not meet consumption demand to an extent of the country importing wheat?
To farm wheat you have to get your budgets well from the onset, the key to success is planting at the right time, spraying and harvesting at the right time. Wheat is not affected much by lack of rainfall, its a member of the grass family and with adequate rain for the first two and a half months during growth the production will be good.
Currently the biggest challenge to wheat farming is wheat rust. KARI is aiming to produce resistant varieties, together with use of sprays the disease can be fairly controlled. The other danger is doing the right thing at the wrong time, when you plant late then the rains are erratic your production will be low, if you dont spry your harvest is affected by disease, if you harvest late and the short rains find your grains in the farm, the grains germinate while in the stock!
The average and fairly profitable land size is 10 acres and more, you still make money with lesser land but don't enjoy the economies of large-scale production. this include during spraying the 3,000ksh mentioned bellow and seeds go paltry more than one acre, with this excess you have more acres done almost free..
An Acre of land produces an average of 15-23 bags of wheat. A bag goes up to 2,900ksh to 3,300ksh
Cost of production per acre this year (2014) was 21,500 ksh see break down below. At an average return on 19 bags per acre and selling a bag at an average price of 3,100ksh per acre you have a gross return of 55,000ksh per acre on a good harvest.
Narok is currently the undisputed bread basket.
Costs Break Down...................................................................................................
Procedure
Identify a farm: visit your target area and identify a farm and pay rent fees. Due to demand for good land this is done an year before the farming year. This is the starting point, with a good point man on the ground you can get good and genuine land. Good land does not flood and is not on a water path. Get an experienced farmer to advice you or share his contacts, the cost of land rent per acre in a year is 4,000 to 5,500ksh.
Farming; land preparation starts in January, this includes ploughing and farrowing. Ploughing costs up to 3,000ksh per acre, harrowing costs 2,500ksh.
Planting: this is done at the onset of the long rains in march planting at the right time is key because of unreliable rainfall patterns. A bag of seeds goes for 3, 000ksh for an acre of land, a bag of fertilizer goes for almost the same amount 3,000ksh, there are always rumors that the government would subsidize the costs its always wise to prepare with all amount. Currently the government agencies are improving the seeds due to the wheat rust disease its always wise to buy packed seeds as opposed to the previous years harvest for seeds.
Spraying: due to diseases spraying is done on signs of infection, spraying per acre costs up to 3,000ksh.
Harvesting: this costs 2,000kshs per acre.
You can get back to me for a detailed proposal for individual or group fund raising, on how to venture and succeed in wheat farming and also why some tried and run never to look back...........centerprises4@gmail.com or through facebook
Growing Your Idea - the Power of a Good Business Proposal
We all want to go into a profitable venture in life but we are afraid to start because of the unknown ; this unknown is the fear of factors that bring about failure in business, simply put the fear of failure. We can all overcome this, ever thought of why funding organizations demand a plan of your idea before giving you capital..the reason is simple, because that is your road map, all your ups and downs are written down and an experienced eye can tell your level of commitment to your idea and expected success.
Before you indulge in any business venture you need a well written business plan, it gives you a preview of your business (i.e) mode of operation, risks/threats and opportunities. Businesses fail because of risks/threats that are either expected or non-expected. Researching on your idea helps you have in mind possible solutions in hand before hitting the road.
My personal experience on the importance of planning came in my venture in Wheat farming six years ago, I took a loan that perfectly fitted my budget to farm 20 acres in Mau Narok, with a hurriedly written proposal my two other group friends and I trooped into our constituency Youth Fund offices for funding. The officer thought our idea was brilliant just as we thought and guided us on the other procedures, we quickly registered our business name and within a short while we were loaded with part capital, we raised the remainder as per our road map (proposal).
By January of 2007 we had our land ploughed and did everything on time with the enthusiasm that befitted a starting and youthful group. It takes four months for wheat to mature and more time to dry up. In our case things were good until the third month when a disease - wheat rust-hit our plantation. We had not budgeted for this eventuality and looked in pain as part of our vegetation withered away. luckily the plants were at an advanced stage and despite the disease we still reaped a handsome profit, it would have been better in quantity since the weather was fair that year, we could not intervene because we had no money, we had not foreseen this eventuality, had it been severe we would have lost more including our borrowed start up capital . (I will my share experiences in wheat farming in a later post)
From that experience , it is my conviction that however little I am investing I must put in place a business plan that captures all eventualities, I invest a lot of time reading on my venture and visiting practicing entrepreneurs on my idea, that's how I build up my proposal. Do not go into an idea that you do not understand - the only way to be confident is by writing down your idea or having it written for you. When you hit the road be guided by your plan especially for starting entrepreneurs who may be tempted to experiment on hear say. A good proposal helps others interrogate your idea and genuine people will always advice in-case of short comings.
A well written proposal is SMART, it must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely.
Today it is a requirement to have a proposal for your business idea when requesting for funding, from banks, Uwezo fund, Youth fund and Women fund.
For more and written sample proposals in farming and business contact me at centerprises4@gmail.com
Before you indulge in any business venture you need a well written business plan, it gives you a preview of your business (i.e) mode of operation, risks/threats and opportunities. Businesses fail because of risks/threats that are either expected or non-expected. Researching on your idea helps you have in mind possible solutions in hand before hitting the road.
My personal experience on the importance of planning came in my venture in Wheat farming six years ago, I took a loan that perfectly fitted my budget to farm 20 acres in Mau Narok, with a hurriedly written proposal my two other group friends and I trooped into our constituency Youth Fund offices for funding. The officer thought our idea was brilliant just as we thought and guided us on the other procedures, we quickly registered our business name and within a short while we were loaded with part capital, we raised the remainder as per our road map (proposal).
By January of 2007 we had our land ploughed and did everything on time with the enthusiasm that befitted a starting and youthful group. It takes four months for wheat to mature and more time to dry up. In our case things were good until the third month when a disease - wheat rust-hit our plantation. We had not budgeted for this eventuality and looked in pain as part of our vegetation withered away. luckily the plants were at an advanced stage and despite the disease we still reaped a handsome profit, it would have been better in quantity since the weather was fair that year, we could not intervene because we had no money, we had not foreseen this eventuality, had it been severe we would have lost more including our borrowed start up capital . (I will my share experiences in wheat farming in a later post)
From that experience , it is my conviction that however little I am investing I must put in place a business plan that captures all eventualities, I invest a lot of time reading on my venture and visiting practicing entrepreneurs on my idea, that's how I build up my proposal. Do not go into an idea that you do not understand - the only way to be confident is by writing down your idea or having it written for you. When you hit the road be guided by your plan especially for starting entrepreneurs who may be tempted to experiment on hear say. A good proposal helps others interrogate your idea and genuine people will always advice in-case of short comings.
A well written proposal is SMART, it must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely.
Today it is a requirement to have a proposal for your business idea when requesting for funding, from banks, Uwezo fund, Youth fund and Women fund.
For more and written sample proposals in farming and business contact me at centerprises4@gmail.com
Sunday 8 June 2014
The Power of a Good Saving Habit - SACCO
The journey to financial freedom is a long
one. Opportunities are abound and calling but it requires a keen eye,
preparedness, knowledge and discipline to benefit. They say that success is as
a result of preparedness meeting opportunity. Preparedness to me is the ability
to identify opportunities and take advantage of them. This can only be achieved
by having knowledge and capital. This post will dwell on capital from savings.
The most reliable source of capital is personal
savings. It never fails you and neither gives you timelines, it’s at your
disposal. A saving culture should be natured from your first earning. It is sad
that as youth we target a certain amount to qualify our resolve to save but it
doesn’t matter how much you put aside but SAVE! Saving enables you to have
reserve capital and when your dream idea is hatched you invest, it also
empowers you to bargain for more funding, do not invest money as you get it,
invest as you get ideas and this minimizes number of failed start ups!
A good saving plan is not cast on stone but
there are proven ways of saving. I will dwell on my personal favorite, SACCO.
This is a gem that those who complain of exorbitant bank and micro-finance interest
rates fail to realize. The truth is banks are robbing the masses, not unless
you own the bank through shareholding or enjoy other bank services, keep off
banks at all cost.
The pros of a good Sacco include a yearly
dividend, average performing Sacco’s give up to 6-10% returns. Banks give 4% on
a year’s savings. But the icing on the cake are SACCO loans, most of them give
loans up to 4 times your savings, the least is 3 times your savings. SACCO
charge a modest interest on loans offered because they are not driven by profit
making but benefiting their members. Their interest range from 8-12% on a
reducing balance while their distant relatives in terms of benefits, banks and
micro-finances charge up to 19-22%. The only security required is other members
to guarantee you, banks require collateral if you don’t have a fixed income.
SACCO’s offer a range of loans from developmental to recreational loans.
Do the math’s if you are saving 2,500ksh
monthly, you save 30,000ksh in one year. In one year you qualify 120, 000ksh at
4 times your saving from your SACCO no need for title-deeds and other
collateral.
To select a good SACCO you need one with a
good integrity record. Join a SACCO related to your industry this way your
peers can give you more information on the society and they can come in handy
as guarantors when you want a loan. One that has been in operation for long
helps you scrutinize their books, financial statements, they can easily tell
you how the SACCO is performing. Word of mouth is crucial; people get it right
most of the time. But most important SACCOS are now regulated by SASRA. Your
SACCO should advice you how to remit savings and their by-laws. By-laws guide
you on SACCO operations, how to open accounts, loan types, limits and
processing and many other services read them well before you join, some differ.
Have you joined one yet you can share your experience!
Good luck on your saving!
Friday 23 May 2014
HASS AVOCADO FARMING IN KENYA
Avocado
farming in Kenya presents a good opportunity not only for farmers, but a
growing population of young people to venture into. The Kenyan market both
domestic and export is growing but limited by the production capacity of
the current farmers. The most popular variety for the export market is
the HASS avocado.
Hass is a semi-spreading tree requiring at least a 40'x 40' planting distance at maturity. It is a generous bearer of fruits.
We had the privilege of interacting with a farmer from central Kenya who
started farming the fruit in 2008 from seedlings. Four years down the
line his trees were of fruit bearing age and in 2014 his venture was commercially viable.Further interactions
revealed his preference of avocado farming to other crops is growing, this was
after a ready export market for his product at 8-12 ksh per fruit, he delivers his products directly to an exporting firm. pic 1 : Hass Avocado fruit
The
climatic conditions in most parts of the country are ideal for Hass
variety farming. They are sensitive to wind, which can cause fruit drop
and defoliation. Trees should be located in safe areas.
Planting of avocado
trees is done at a spacing of 9m×9m. Dig planting holes 60cm ×60cm× 60cm
separating top soil and subsoil. Mix the top soil with 20kg of well decomposed
manure, 120grams of double super phosphate fertilizer. Remove the
seedling from
the pot keeping the root and soil structure intact, and plant using the
top
soil mixture. The subsoil may be used to make a basin around the plant. We were able to determine production per tree by randomly sampling trees in the farm.
Production
averaged 60 fruits per tree, this was what we were able to count and
could be more before the end of the season. See pic 2. Please note harvesting is done twice in one year. Pic 2: Mature tree
Average
production per randomly sampled tree yielded 60 fruits at its fifth
year in one season, production is two seasons per year. At an average
price of ten shillings per fruit the returns per tree per year amount
to 1200 ksh. It takes 100 or more fruits to create a meaningful income of
more than 100,000 ksh!
NOTE: There are other Avocado fruit varieties but this is the most popular for the export market and has a high production , due to its popularity for domestic and export consumption it fetches high prices compared to traditional varieties.
CAUTION: The Grafted seedlings determine the fruit variety for mature trees, source your seedling from practicing farmers: to get seedling from this farmer : centerprises4@gmail.com
All photographs courtesy of Creative Enterprises
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