Nairobi Business Magazine Nov. 2014 Issue by BIC Agency Kenya

Nairobi Your Free Copy

Our Business is Marketing Yours

Nov. 2014 Issue #004

Make Money Selling eBooks Become a Social Media Manager

â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is a Big Business Opportunity in Recycling Plastic to Dieselâ&#x20AC;&#x153;

Anthony, Renewable Energy Consultant

Maintaining a Good Online Opportunities in Equipment Reputation Hire Business

Chemical Products

Hand tools

Drill Bits and Abrasive Discs

• Anchorﬁxing (Mechanical/Chemical) • Screws • Cold Galvaniser • Hire/Hammer drills • Generators Sales and Installation • Plant Installation • Special Rooﬁng • Rawl Bolts • Safefy Harness & Allied

Proﬁx Systems Limited Metal Products Nylon Products

Hire Equipement

CONTACT: INDUSTRIAL AREA , Nairobi Cell: +254 724 732 806 +254 (0) 20 2600133 P.O. Box 9728, NAIROBI,Kenya Email: info@proﬁxsystem.co.ke

NairobiBusiness Editorial Committee Winfred Wanjiku Nicholas Kuria

Design & Layout BIC Agency

Sales and Marketing team

Amos Kamande Susan Wacu Tony Muiruri

The Nairobi Business is published monthly by BIC Agency. P.O.Box 51202 - 00100 Nairobi, Kenya, Cell Phone: +254 723 22 10 22/ +254 739 52 84 94 3221022@gmail.com businessnairobi@gmail.com facebook.com/nairobibusiness

No part of this publication may be reproduced, adapted, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission from BIC Agency.

Disclaimer

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements, inserts and company contact details are printed as provided by the advertiser. BIC Agency cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.

Nairobi Businesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Key Features BIC Agency publishes Nairobi Business Magazine monthly to provide the reading community with business, products and services information and links to the broader networks. It is intended to be a tool through which business information and opportunities can be disseminated to the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s marketplace. All the back issues can be obtained upon request in digital format (PDF file) The past, current and future news briefs and activities are summarized and featured in the magazine. The magazine offers opportunity for companies, organisations and institutions in the region and beyond to highlight their products and services. Nairobi Business Magazine monitors

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From Editors Desk Welcome to Nairobi Business once again. The November Issue open theme. We have put together invaluable information that will excite the reader. The magazine content is strategically growing and we look forward to presenting you with very informative articles and news in other subsequent issues. Nairobi Business is an advertisement tool for the business people, both the SMEs and the big companies. The magazine advertisement charges are business friendly and the readership is arguably sizeable and steadily growing. We currently have a mailing list of close to ten thousand. The next issue will focus on the opportunities the youth can embrace and start businesses. There are opportunities which could help reduce over reliance on employment. We will also have a section for success stories in the market. We welcome any suggestions from the readers. You are also free to submit articles for publication under the BIC Agency terms and conditions. Please feel free to communicate with us through the email on our contact section. God bless you

Editorial

the formation and implementation of new businesses. From the business industry, the magazine collates information on business issues and problems for the purpose of alleviating barriers to the smooth development of business. Circulation / Target Readership: The magazine is intended for a readership within the region by persons and companies in diverse industries. Overall, the purpose of this publication is to stimulate and help persons in business or intending to be in business with information. It is also a tool to help the business owners raise their visibility in the market. The magazine is distributed electronically through our social media, mailing list and well packaged DVDs of back issues. We are quite strategic on the social media. The minimum size circulated is 28 pages

............................................................................................................................................................. Nairobi Business Magazine | Issue #004 | November 2014 |

CONTENT

Nairobi

<<< Start selling eBooks

Selling eBooks is a great opportunity that anyone with the basic knowledge in computer and internet can do. Get great incite from the article.

Make Money Selling Domain

Recycle Waste Plastics to Diesel

You can make quite good money buying Through the pyrolysis process, the plastic and selling domains. You ask how? Get waste can be processed to diesel. There is a lot of plastic waste that can be recycled. more information from the article.

Components of a good business poster

There is much to a business poster than one may think. Learn how to do an effective business poster.

Tips on maintaining reputation

good

online

Almost every business has online presence now. It is one thing to be online and another thing to maintain that strong online presence and a good reputation.

Email us to advertise on Nairobi Business businessnairobi@gmail.com

Equipment Hire Business; A brilliant Business Idea

ost of the businesses in the market use equipment leasing on a regular basis. Most significantly, the construction companies, and distribution and logistics companies are key potential clients in this kind of business. With such a large demand for equipment rentals, starting a rental business helps you get involved in a potentially lucrative business venture. Equipment rental plays a large role in the success of many companies. Starting an equipment rental business makes it possible to create long-term partnerships with local businesses. The reason why most of companies go into leasing machineries is the cost of acquiring the equipment. These machineries are very costly and they are usually used only once and only for a short period of time. To be practical, instead of purchasing, most businesses turn to equipment leasing companies to solve their heavy equipment requirements. The agreement between the lender and the lessee usually last for a specified time period and the charge is a flat monthly rate. James, Director Profix Systems Limited, advises, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Before you start into the business, it is always good to learn some basic information you need to know before putting up equipment for hire business.â&#x20AC;? If you intend to do heavy equipment hire business for example, get an overview of how the equipment leasing business operates and find the commonly used heavy equipments. In essence, the equipment for hire business involves two parties: one, those in need of heavy equipment and two, the company that rents out heavy equipment. To be able to venture into this you need to align a few things. Firstly, make a business plan for your rental business. At this time, decide what type of equipment you will rent. For example, rent heavy equipment like bulldozers and backhoes or smaller items like forklifts and trucks. In the business plan, include information about what you plan on doing differently than your competitors. Make some financial projections as well in the form of an income statement, a balance sheet and a cash flow statement. Secondly, set up the legal aspects of your business. This may involve incorporating your business or setting up a limited liability company. Purchase a business ownerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s insurance policy that covers your property and general liability. Make sure that the insurance you buy covers all of the equipment that you will be renting. Thirdly, find a location for your rental equipment business. Many rental equipment businesses need properties with office space and warehouse space. Consider the needs of your business and choose a property that fits into your business plan. Fourthly, buy the equipment that you will be renting to Nairobi|6

your customers. If you do not have enough money, borrow some through a commercial loan. If this is the case, use your business plan to show the lender what your business has to offer. When buying equipment, look for quality items that can withstand the wear and tear that your customers will put on it. You want the equipment to last so that it is rented to multiple customers over its useful life. Fifthly, market your rental business. Call on businesses that have need for your equipment. Advertise on the radio, in the paper and on TV. In the beginning, offer a promotion or other introductory rate so that you gain a customer base. To attract clients, equipment leasing company must make its presence known. Advertising therefore is a must. Be patient and take time to answer your prospective clientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s questions. Make them feel that you are there to meet their equipment needs because you want to help them and not because you see them as an opportunity to earn profit. From his experience running Profix Systems Limited, James is quick to point, â&#x20AC;&#x153;You need to have lease options available since this is what customers usually ask for.â&#x20AC;? Your quotes must be at par if not lower than that of the competition because more often than not, customers compare rates. Technology being the foundation of modern business, rental business can involve any type of equipment. For example you will find companies with computers for rental. Such companies have extensive inventory to assist the client in any business event or expansion. Business customer may use computer rentals for: temporary or seasonal employees and interns, training sessions, user conferences and other events. If your business is increasing, the rental computer could solve your short-term or longterm computer equipment rental needs. Virtually, you can start rental business on any equipment that the market needs. You only need to identify your niche and good for information. Nairobi Business eMagazine Team

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November 2014 | Issue #004 | Nairobi Business Magazine |

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Selling Or Buying Domain Names For REVENUE

f you are looking to make money online, you are possibly aware that it seems that everyday new ways are being presented on how you can achieve this. Flipping domains, on the other hand, is a proven opportunity to make money and sometimes quickly, although not everyone is aware of the market for this. In a similar manner as owning a website means you have an asset, this is also the case when you purchase a domain. How domains can be sold for a nice return is something we will now explore. There are countless domains that made people prosperous who were in this market at the start and there are many of these who still trade domains as a genuine business today. The dot com extension is actually the most valuable and the one word kind of domains are long gone in terms of availability as they are for the majority of the others such as dot net and dot org. If you can instruct yourself about this market, you can still make healthy profits once you realize where the demand is. Short domain names have the potential to make you some money and those with the least characters are most likely to be priced at the uppermost level. One of the underlying factors these can be attractive to prospective buyers is they may be seen as brandable particularly in these days of web 2.0 sites that have short quirky names. Clearly, some will be more marketable than others and so you need to get a feel for what looks right. You should learn to get an instinct for what is right here and by looking into what actually sells and for what price, your understanding of what creates interest will increase.

you will recognize the next sort of domain that is dependent on specific keyword phrases. Googleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s keyword tool is used by many people for investigation in internet marketing and, in domaining, the exact match options are often used. The more occasions an exact keyword is searched for, the more valuable the domain could be to buy if you still can get it. The dot net and dot org extensions can be lucrative if you find that the more sought after dot com has already been registered. As you become more competent, you will get an idea as to what markets are the most profitable as this will have an effect on the price paid for domains. A further area of escalating interest for domainers are extensions associated with particular international locations such as the UK and Germany. It is conceivable to unearth domains that you might not obtain for the main domain extensions and this could end up being profitable. If you keep an eye on the market, you will see that you are much more aware of where the value is. Sedo is one of the largest sites online for marketing domains so you need to see what goes on there and sign up for a forum like NamePros or DNForum. Domain flipping can make you money online as long as you invest some hours gaining the wisdom you need to trade successfully. Written By Marcus Wilson http://www.onlineoptionstradingfordummies.com

If you look into niches as part of your internet marketing, Nairobi|8

Components of a Good BUSINESS POSTER mind that you must use an ORIGINAL image here as well. Do not get something that has been used by others in other color posters. It is best to compose something uniquely your own by taking your own photographs and creating your own graphics. This allows you to have fresh new look in your business posters, something people have not seen before yet. So make sure you create your own original attractive poster image for your poster printing. 3. The main advertising copy . After the image, you should also have your main advertising content or copy. Pay particular attention to the tone and language of your posters. It must be able to engage your target readers and their specific demographics. You should fine tune it all the time so that people who read your posters will more easily relate to its contents, and hopefully more easily respond to it as well. Pay close attention to this of course, and try to test these content out before deployment.

ow, there are posters for advertising, and there are posters for specific business marketing. In this special guide, I will teach you about the parts of business marketing posters. These kinds of custom posters not only advertise things, but also have you and your firm included in its marketing message. Try to include all these details in your own business posters and you should have a great and robust poster that has all the important details. 1. The original poster title. First we have the original poster title. Your full color custom posters should always have that original title that no one has seen. So try to avoid clich lines or derivative titles that people typically have already heard before. For a really effective color poster, you should compose a title that you have thought of yourself that people can easily remember and understand. With that right original title, you will have a good chance of your posters easily getting more readers reading it. 2. The original attractive poster image. Of course, business posters will also need an original and attractive poster image. All posters of course need this as this is the main element that both attracts readers and communicates the message theme properly. Keep in

4. The invitation to respond. After the marketing copy, do not forget to add that invitation to respond. People need that extra encouragement before they actually buy something or actually act on something that they see. So make sure that you emphasize that invitation to respond in your color posters. Tell people to buy, visit, respond and do exactly what you need them to do. Believe me, this elicits more responses typically when compared to others that do not have that invitation. 5. Important response instructions. Of course, do not forget those response instructions. Sometimes people fall off that wagon and do not respond to your posters simply because they do not know how to respond. By printing out response instructions easily visible in your posters, you can remedy this situation and keep people on the road to poster response. 6. Business and Contact information. Lastly, do not forget your contact information. People will need it if they wish to respond to you and your posters directly. So add in the telephone numbers, emails website address as well as other data such as social networking handle. Of course, your logo and other business profile elements should also be here. Your posters should have a more personal face and easily accessible look when you do add these information. Nairobi Business eMagazine Team.

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November 2014 | Issue #004 | Nairobi Business Magazine |

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Wanjohi Irrigation Services

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Become a Social Media Manager and Earn from HOME • •

78% of Small Medium Enterprises attract new customers through social media When asked to rank their company’s social business maturity on a scale of 1 to 10, more than half of global business executives gave their company a score of 3 or below

But the statistic that is most relevant to us for now is; Just 12% of those using social media feel they actually use it effectively. Being a social media manager brings with it some key benefits within a freelance setting. The most recognizable being the fact that you are your own boss. Social media is an in-demand role, but one that companies are still struggling to come to terms with. Some companies realize and understand the value social media could bring to their enterprise and are willing to invest heavily in robust social media campaigns. Being your own boss, you can decide how to set your costs and price accordingly.

he responsibility of a social media manager has appealed to the mass generation of socially-active internet users. Being a social media manager is kind of like being a stand-up comedian. You have to quickly understand your audience and your engagement with them is vital. It’s an undisputed reality that every business needs to be active in social media. The ever-changing demands of the modern day consumer require brands to think fast and adapt quickly in order to stay one step ahead. The question then is, how do you become a social media manager? And a great social media manager for that matter? The reply will be simple. Firstly, you have to want it. Secondly, you have to love it. Thirdly, you have to learn it. And after you qualify in these three, you should ask yourself: “Am I a social person?” If the answer is no, then becoming a social media manager maybe far from reality for you. These statistics are very interesting: • 93% of marketers use social media for business • 97% of all consumers search for local businesses online • Social media has now overtaken pornography as the number 1 activity on the web • 71% of consumers receiving a quick brand response on social media say they would likely recommend that brand to others. • In terms of difficulty of execution, nearly half (49%) of B2B marketers put social media marketing at the top, followed by content marketing (39%), SEO (26%) and mobile (25%) • 77% of B2B marketers use a blog as part of their content marketing mix • On average, 25% of marketing budgets are now spent on content development, delivery and promotion

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Another attractive reason for becoming a social media manager is the low barriers to entry. With low start-up costs and plenty of online resources to rapidly decrease the learning curve, anyone can launch a freelance social media management business within a short space of time. However, there are some fundamental skills that are needed of Social Media Manager: 1. Marketing Knowledge: You should have a good grasp of the basic marketing principles. Some education in marketing would be beneficial, but otherwise you can find many quality resources online. 2. Experience: Your experience doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to life experiences. Have you managed your own social media profiles for a while? Do you know how to effectively maintain your own social accounts and understand what clients expect? 3. Sociable: If you are not a sociable person – someone who doesn’t like communicating much and isn’t very outgoing, then becoming a social media manager just isn’t for you. Sure, you can hide behind a keyword and monitor for a while, but clients will usually want to meet, speak on the phone, or have Skype sessions at some point. 4. Project Management: You don’t have to have a certificate, but you do need to be able to manage projects and your time well. It’s typical for social media manager’s to work with multiple clients at any one time. Keeping tabs on everything is important so that it doesn’t get overwhelming. 5. Technological: Social media exists online. Therefore, you need to have a certain degree of computer literacy. Having good knowledge of social technology will enhance your services and ensure you are keeping up to date with the latest social trends and developments. Above these, there are also Interpersonal Skills which are necessary for you to become a social media manager:

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Communication: It kind of goes without saying that if you’re going to be representing a company and engaging with their customers, then you will need to have strong communication skills. Personality: Companies tend not to want to hire people with no personality to act on behalf of their brand. It doesn’t resonate well with them, or their audiences. Responsiveness: Social media is very fast-paced. Imagine if one of your social assignments was largely focused on customer service and you didn’t respond to customer complaints or queries for weeks. People online want rapid responses. Being able to fulfill these needs can stand your client (and you!) in good stead. Entrepreneurial: To become a social media manager in a freelance capacity, you have to be a self-starter. You should be willing to go the extra mile and take a few financial risks along the way. If you don’t land a job that pays enough in one month, how will this affect you? Multitasking: A great social media manager must be able to effectively carry out a wide range of tasks. Managing social media accounts for several companies is not an easy task for people who can’t multitask. Organization: You should always be very well organized when delivering social media management services. Use all kinds of traditional tools like calendars, white boards and task lists to keep stay organized. Also use online organizational tools, such as: Thunderbird for accessing all your email accounts in one place, Dropbox to easily share documents with clients and bookmarks to keep track of all the websites you frequently visit. Strategic Thinking: Being able to think campaigns through before they happen and sometimes thinking outside the box when needed, are great assets to have as a social media manager. Clients tend to want to know how you will do something before letting you do it, so being able to present a clear and concise strategy is essential. Flexible (with travel): Contrary to popular belief, a freelance social media manager has to leave the office sometimes! If this is a problem for you, then you should think about starting another profession. Nearly every sizeable project involves multiple meetings with the client. You should have reasonable pitching skills, as you may be required to sell your services face to face too, before being hired. You may even opt to take on in-house work. A great social Media Manager should a be good copy writer. Writing forms the foundations of many aspects of online marketing, be it creating ads, writing blogs, engaging with customers, scripting sales copy or writing press releases. Basic knowledge in graphic design is pretty good. If you are sharp with Photoshop (or similar design software), then you are in a good position to offer these services as part of your social media package. Similarly, creating content such as infographics, banners or images is standard practice for a social media manager. Every social media manager should have sound knowledge of advertising. Be it Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising or banner advertising. Public relations is closely tied to social media marketing, in the sense that both involve managing the spread of information between a business and the public. You should always persuade stakeholders, investors or the public to maintain a certain point of view. It does no harm being able to do basic video editing too. The client might request you post videos on the social media.

Strategy: You will be required to formulate campaign and platform specific strategies that meet the business objectives. You will create actions plans, content calendars, set metrics, undertake various research activities and perform different types of analysis. There will also be wider strategic duties such as contingency planning and crisis management. Content Creation: Content creates the foundations of any marketing campaign. How you decide to execute your campaigns will depend on the different forms of content you produce. As you would have no doubt already heard from someone, content is king. Community Management: Managing accounts also means managing communities. You should be the go-to person when representing brands in social domains and continually reach out and engage with your audiences. You will need to constantly strengthen social relationships in order to develop long-lasting followers. Audience Building: Marketing to the same people over and over will not widen your scope and social reach. You should be increasing readership and your level of influence within your target audiences. Customer Service: Many companies use social media as an instant channel for customer service. You will have to be responsive and helpful in your social activities, regularly being the first point of contact. You will be representing the brand and managing their customer perceptions. Measurement: Every effort that consumes investment will need to be measured and analyzed. You set up your Google Analytics account and provide custom dashboards that you can import into your own account within a few clicks. Reporting: Once your efforts have been measured and analyzed, your clients will want to understand how their investment has performed. This can take the form of visual aids for meetings or digital reports. Reporting is a key ingredient of any social media manager in order to prove your worth and demonstrate the value you have added to the business. As social media is such a dynamic environment with start-ups booming and busting every few months. It is essential to keep up to date with social developments. Every so often, a client will ask you to set up profiles or campaigns on sites that some social media managers would have never heard of. Keeping tuned in will enable you to have at least some knowledge and experience in using these platforms, which will dramatically lower your learning curve and ultimately lead to better performing campaigns. Nairobi Business eMagazine Team

Everything in marketing should be measured. You should periodically measure and analyze your social marketing performance and produce reports to your clients to demonstrate your value. Understanding how social media affects search engine optimization will ultimately improve campaign performance. Even if you possess all the necessary skills to become a social media manager, there is still scope to improve your services by using different social tools and software. But Will a Social Media Manager Be Expected To Do? Here are a few general activities that social media managers will be expected to execute:

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Strategic plan development. Strategic leadership training. Change management training. Conflict Resolution Youth Programs

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Make Money Recycling Plastic Waste into Diesel

nvironmental pollution due to plastic wastes is a global phenomenon today. Conventional petrochemical plastics are currently consumed at a staggering global figure of more than 200 million tonnes a year and continue to increase at a rate above 5%. Recycling waste plastics into reusable plastic products is a conventional strategy followed to address this issue for years. However this technique has not given impressive results as cleaning and segregation of waste plastics was found difficult but indispensible in this technique. It is estimated that approximately thousands tonnes of plastics waste per day is generated in our country. Such plastic wastes include different types: Low Density Poly Ethylene (LDPE), High Density Poly Ethylene (HDPE), Poly Ethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polypropylene (PP), Polystyrene (PS), Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) etc. Plastic items that enter the waste stream are made in a wide range of formats and from a variety of polymer types. According to the market research of material recovery facilities (MRFs), and other waste-processing facilities, there is generation of thousands of tonnes per annum (tpa) of low-quality mixed waste plastic film in Kenya which cannot be recovered by current mechanical recycling techniques. The bulk of this material is plastic film from commercial and domestic packaging sources. There is the potential to use chemical and thermal processing methods to recover these low-grade mixed waste plastics as useful materials. As the plastic waste segregation is difficult it was essential to have novel technologies for plastic waste disposal. Today, sophisticated technologies are available for

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plastic waste management. Pyrolysis is one such technique used not only for waste disposal but to produce useful products like industrial diesel, gaseous fuel, carbon black etc. Pyrolysis is the thermal degradation of waste in an oxygen-starved environment in which the oxygen content is low for gasification to take place. Pyrolysis liquefaction is a non-combustion heat treatment that catalytically (chemically) decomposes waste material by applying heat, directly or indirectly to the waste material in an oxygen free environment. It is an endothermic reaction which requires an input of energy that is typically applied indirectly through the walls of the reactor in which the waste material is fed into. Pyrolysis liquefaction occurs under pressure and at operating temperatures above 430 Degree Celsius. Industrial Oil (Pyrolysis oil), Charcoal and Syn-gases are produced as result of the process. Processes for conversion of plastics and other solid hydrocarbon materials to oil are not new. Gasification and pyrolysis techniques for coal were commercialised in Germany during the Second World War and developed further in South Africa during the Apartheid years. Plastic depolymerisation techniques were developed actively during the 1980s and 1990s, but none was adopted commercially as mechanical recycling methods developed rapidly. Over the past 10 years there has been an increase in the amount of research into the conversion of plastic into oil, as oil prices

have increased and waste collection and sorting methods have improved. There are now several processes operating close to commercial viability in different parts of the world. The processes that have the most technical and commercial potential fall into three categories: Fast gas phase pyrolysis to make synthetic crude oil mixtures; Liquid-phase catalytic depolymerisation to make mixed distillates; and Gasification, followed by chemical or biological synthesis, to make high-quality fuels. High conversion efficiency can be achieved. For example, the output of a plant with input capacity of 10,000 Kgs mixed plastic wastes/day can be; Pyrolysis Oil (Diesel: 85%, Kerosene: 7% & Petrol: 8%): 6500 to 9000 lit, Hydrocarbon Gas: 500 to 1000 Kg and Carbon Black: 500 to 700 Kg. The same result can be achieved through a lower capacity plant. The recommended plastic waste generally include; Waste plastic, Electronic scrap, Mixed Plastic (LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE, PP, Nylon, Teflon, PS, ABS, FRP), Multilayered Plastic, Waste tyres, Rubber. Basically, PS, PP and PET are the best for pyrolysis process, they achieve good results. The successful implementation of such project depends on the regular supply of plastic wastes. As the plastic waste generation is alarmingly increasing every day, there will not be any scarcity for this material. There is tremendous scope for the products of pyrolysis like Industrial Diesel (Pyrolysis Oil), Gaseous Fuel and Carbon black. The important applications are; Pyrolysis oil (Industrial Diesel): Used in Electric Generators, Boilers, Diesel pumps, Furnace, Hot air generators, Hot water generators, Thermic fluid heater, etc. Hydrocarbon Gas: Reused in the Plant Carbon Black: Used in Rubber Industry, Plastic Industry, Paints, Inks etc. Such project is technologically and economically viable. There is no scarcity for plastic wastes as the plastic waste generation has already become a habit of our society. In most cities and major towns in Kenya, the plastic waste generated per day is so high. The end products like Industrial oil, Carbon black and Gaseous fuel manufactured from plastic wastes invites customers as these products are extensively used for various applications and the cost of these items are lower compared to the same products produced from petroleum sources. That creates a competitive market. The development of plastics-to-oil processes could be further encouraged by adjusting the regulatory and fiscal incentives. The pyrolysis and catalytic depolymerisation processes are limited in scale by the need for external heating of the material to be treated. These pyrolysis and catalytic depolymerisation processes have a relatively low capital cost and a relatively high yield (60â&#x20AC;&#x201C;70% of the feedstock is converted to a liquid). However, the quality of these oil products is low and further processing is required to give a fuel product. Despite this, the high yield improves the environmental and economic viability of these processes. The quality of the oil produced by catalytic depolymerisation depends on the quality of the feedstock. Small units can be designed and fabricated for behind the kitchen application. There are such small units already in the market especially in Japan that can be replicated in other nation. Such application could also open up the opportunities for youth to be in gainful employ and on the other hand help in the management of the waste which sometime is a headache to the most of the city and municipal councils in Kenya. The market is ready and plastic waste is abundant. That is a business case. About Author | Anthony | Renewable Energy Consultant | To contact Anthony, you can send an email to 3221022.ke@gmail.com

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Our Business is Marketing Yours We Offer Solutions in: Web Design Content Creation Graphics Concepts and Design Digital Assets Management Social Media Advisory and Management Blog Setup Online Marketing Article Marketing Email Marketing Mobile Marketing eBooks Creation Company eProfiles Company Products eCatalog Contact for any of the solutions: BIC Agency +254 739 52 84 94 +254 723 22 10 22 3221022@gmail.com

Making Good Money Selling eBOOKS

etting a publishing contract has long been the first litmus test of a writer’s success. Writers spend years in the wilderness accumulating rejections before finding a single buyer. But conventional publishing isn’t the only game in town anymore. Self-published authors are increasingly getting into bestseller list. Amanda Hocking became a selfpublishing multi-millionaire with her teen supernatural thrillers before bagging a $2M publishing contract with St. Martin’s Press. John Locke sold $2M worth of eBooks before landing a deal with Simon & Schuster. All this means that, perhaps you don’t need a contract to validate you now or in the future. Why eBooks, Why Now? The numbers don’t lie: Amazon now sells more eBooks than printed books. The path to becoming a Kindle millionaire isn’t easy, but it’s possible to tilt the odds in your favor by following best practices. Becoming a millionaire using non-Kindle eBooks is arguably even easier. Coming to local context, any interested writer can make money writing non-kindle eBooks. You can write an eBook, convert to PDF and sell in electronic format. There is no need warming your seat behind your

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computer and complain that there is no job. Doing this could be as easy as you would want to make it be. When you want to venture in creating and selling eBooks, research and understand your niche. What do you want to write about? The first step is market research. What is kind of information that the market is looking for? What information is it will to pay for? Then, go ahead and create the eBook. Creating the eBook can be the hardest or the easiest part of becoming a publisher, depending on your comfort level with writing. Writing the eBook yourself can be incredibly fun if you enjoy the creative process or a mind-numbing chore if you don’t. Alternatively, you can outsource the entire project. But before you jump into the fray, there are a few key steps to consider: Brainstorm the title of the book. Along with the cover, your title is the most visible aspect of your book. Brainstorm angles and approaches to the content. What makes your book unique among the competition? What new perspective are you bringing to the niche? How can you deliver most value to your readers? Create a detailed outline of the entire eBook. Map

everything out, from the introduction to the concluding paragraph. Look to the bestselling books in your niche for inspiration and advice on structure and organization. You should have a thorough outline detailing the style, tone and content of each chapter. Create a writing schedule and stick to it. Set aside at least an hour or two for writing each day. This is the hardest part about writing a successful novel, simply because it requires discipline and commitment. Most writers don’t succeed because they give-up midway. Most of consistently good writers write between 10pm8am. This means they either got to be really late or they wake up really early. It’s easier to concentrate when the rest of the world is asleep. After you have the content written, create a good cover. Never judge a book by its cover, they say. However, your cover will go a long way towards setting you apart from the other self-published writers. If you’ve done your market research right, you already know what we are talking about: badly formatted books with covers that look like Photoshop disasters will frustrate you badly. A quality cover is proof that you’ve put thought and effort into the book – a good signal for a prospective buyer. After the eBook is well packaged; well formatted and the cover is enticing, it is time to market. Marketing is what separates you to become a successful publisher. Self-publishing essentially inverts the traditional publishing model, where publishers publish the book, and then get the media to drum up enthusiasm before the public can pass it along through word-of-mouth. Self-published authors must do this entire process in reverse. It is a good idea to start a blog to market the eBook(s). You have no excuses for not running a blog. It is free and downright easy with software like WordPress. Share advice and tips related to your niche. Your blog should serve as a teaser trailer for what’s in store in your book. Be as educative, informative, and creative as you can be.

eBooks are relatively cheap. Try as much as you can to stay within the range. It is also a good idea to give away your book for free initially to jump start sales. You do this by setting the list price as $0.00 and promoting the book’s initial run through social media. If the product is good enough, it will spread through word of mouth and you can alter the list price accordingly. The book description is important for telling the readers what to expect in the book. This is where you put your blurb and review snippets from bloggers. Reviews are social proof of a book’s quality and a crucial contributing factor to its success. Gathering positive reviews will go a long way in pushing your eBook towards the bestseller charts. Some authors, confess to buying reviews for money, but it’s a practice that is unethical and looked down upon in the writer community. Your best bet is to leverage your existing relationships with your Twitter followers, blog readers, friends, and relatives to get positive reviews. Once you are set to sell, you can get an online store where you can sell your eBooks. The store can be so automated that when the customer buys an eBook and make payment online, they will receive a download link. There also so many available ways of receiving payments either online or through mobile payment gateways. The beauty of it is that once you have enough leverage in the market, you’re essentially working on auto-pilot. Once you are an established presence in the market, your name alone will attract the curious and the faithful. As far as passive income is concerned, it’s hard to beat a portfolio of eBooks. Nairobi Business eMagazine Team

You can never under-estimate the power of social media. It will be worthwhile to create profile on Facebook and Twitter to promote the eBook. Barry Eisler advises “not to use social media to sell, but rather to give away useful information and entertaining content for free, and to build relationships thereby. What you do on your Facebook page and Twitter page should be intended to benefit your friends and followers. If they like it, they’ll like you; if they like you, maybe they’ll become interested in your books.” When your work is complete, then go to Pricing, Descriptions and Reviews. Price is a major advantage self-published authors have over published authors.

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Compelling Reasons to Hire a Marketing Team For Success in BUSINESS 3. Website developers and programmers who eat, breathe and sleep code. You want experts who know how to make a website work the best way possible for search engines, user experiences, and ultimately get sales conversions. 4. SEO / SEM experts who do nothing but study trends and test and tweak their work all day long. This in itself is a full time job and lots of money can be wasted if you don’t quite know what you’re doing.

re you short on time for marketing your business? Do you have so many marketing ideas you’re not sure where to start? If so, you’re like hundreds of other business owners who say they’re overwhelmed with marketing their business. While bootstrapping helps early on, as your business grows, hiring a marketing team is a smart strategy to consider. Imagine the time, energy, and focus you’d have not worrying about building your website and making ongoing updates, writing sales copy, SEO, social media, webinar management and content creation. Plus, getting tasks like these off your plate, frees you to focus on growth and building your bottom line. Here’s a few benefits of delegating your marketing tasks: • you experience improved accuracy while avoiding costly mistakes • you cut the learning curve to zero having to keep up with latest tools and techniques • you get marketing tasks are handled in a timely manner • you benefit with expert guidance, fresh perspectives and creative ideas • technical expertise from experienced professionals

5. Copywriters who have a gift of writing and understanding the psychological aspect of drawing in a potential client, getting them engaged and becoming emotionally involved in the copy that will compel them into action. 6. Online Marketers who can advise you on how to do an effective product launch, send out a newsletter that people will actually read, or set up your blog posts for the best search engine optimization. 7. Social media advisors who have studied several of the popular platforms and understand the systems and strategies that go into an effective social media campaign. So stop struggling. Do what you do best and delegate the rest! Susan Friesen eVision Media www.evisionmedia.ca

What you get with a marketing team: 1. Branding experts and graphic designers who are trained in the subtle nuances of design and brand enhancement to showcase your business credibility and establish your unique brand position. 2. Website designers who have studied how a user interface layout is critical to a website’s success and how to merge that with a unique brand design to give a professional look and feel to a website. Quality web designers also know how to design €responsive€ layouts for optimal smart phone experiences.

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Karibuni Sana

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Hook Up Your Home with An Easy to Use Online SURVEILLANCE CAMERA SYSTEM

Written By Nicholas Kuria Inspired Concept

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n online surveillance camera system helps you keep an eye on the happenings at home when you are not there. Apart from alarm systems and other security features, camera surveillance enhances your home’s security. This requires you to install CCTV cameras with motion detection abilities. The images captured by the cameras are then sent to your computer via software. On the other hand, it is also possible to have a system that streams images online. At certain intervals, you can log into the system and see what has been happening in front of every camera in the past few hours. Installing such an online surveillance camera system has now become affordable. It also involves the use of a straightforward process. You only need to have wireless internet and a set of cameras with wireless capability. To set the ball rolling, you must first survey your home. Walk around the house both outside and inside. You could even sketch the house. The aim is to try and establish the vantage points. This will further give you ideas on the number of cameras needed to enable you see all areas within and outside your house. From your sketches and the survey, pinpoint the areas you would like to mount surveillance cameras. Consider putting one or two cameras in hidden places that an intruder would hardly suspect. If you have workers that live within your compound, make them aware of your plans. Otherwise, you could be in trouble for intruding into their privacy. Surveillance cameras are fitted with batteries. Find out from your dealer how long the batteries last. Nevertheless, you need not worry about having to connect them to a power supply. In order to monitor your online surveillance camera system, you only have to type a camera’s IP address. Do the same for every other camera whose images you want to view. In order to make things easy, your service provider should be able to configure the system. This involves creating a folder where every camera is bookmarked. Whenever you want to view the happenings, you only have to click on the bookmark. The images will then show on your computer screen. You can also shop for a surveillance system that is all inclusive. This means that the cameras and the software require a few hours of installation and downloading the software. In a nutshell, securing your home should take priority. With the kind of systems available, you can buy surveillance kits and install them all by yourself. Owing to the technical aspects of wiring and set-up, it is advisable to have installation technicians handle this. Carry out an online research and get an update of the systems available in the market. Find out how much it would cost you to install the system you desire. Work out a budget detailing what you will be able to afford. Confirm that the product you are seeking has a manufacturer’s warranty. The service provider should also offer you a guarantee to service your online surveillance camera system.

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The Basics of Life INSURANCE POLICIES

Written By NIcholas Kuria Inspired Concepts

s a parent, the best legacy you can leave behind when you die is to cement your familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s financial welfare. Even though people do not like thinking about death, it must occur at some point in life. You will be better off prepared than leaving your children and spouse in financial distress. This is where life insurance comes into play. It is an insurance policy that undertakes to pay a certain sum of money to a beneficiary in the event an insured person dies. Beneficiaries here include your spouse and children. The policy is expressed in form of a monetary value also referred to as the sum assured. With the help of actuaries, insurance companies determine the amount of premiums you are supposed to pay. Several factors are used in determining these premiums. Your age, occupation, gender and medical history are some of these factors. Life insurances policies do not necessarily come into force when you pass on. There are other insurance policies where you receive benefits while you are still alive. These are ideal for situations where you want to save for retirement or paying for your childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s college education. In such policies, an amount of cash accrues and gets paid after the expiry of the period stipulated. It is false to think that life insurance is only for those who are nearing retirement or are past a certain age. By virtue of being in employment, you work and earn a salary every month. This empowers you financially. You are able to buy a car, pay for a mortgage, take your family on vacation, feed and clothe them. Nevertheless, an unprecedented accident or another situation may occur and render you jobless. The effects will spiral down to the people who depend on you. Soon, your kids could be sent out of school and you may start falling back on mortgage payments leading to foreclosure.

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There are many other repercussions. By making a sound financial decision, you can avoid all this. Basically, if you are married, have children or do support your aging parents, then you need this type of insurance. You may also analyze your savings, pension and retirement plan. If you feel that they cannot sustain the lives of your loved ones when you are not around, consider signing up for this insurance policy. Talk to a financial advisor or an insurance broker and compare different types of policies available. As a rule of thumb, you need life insurance if your present finances cannot be able to secure the future financial life of those who depend on you. There are numerous types of life insurance products that you can sign up for. For instance, in a level term insurance policy, your beneficiary receives payment only when you pass away. Eligibility also requires that death occurs within the time stipulated in the policy. The best part is that you only pay a fixed monthly amount as premium throughout the policy period. On the other hand, a whole life policy guarantees to pay a certain amount of money. However, the premiums are higher than those of level term insurance but the payout is big.

Tips on Keeping Your Online REPUTATION INTACT

he reputation of a business is the backbone of its operations. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have portrayed your brand positively. In order to achieve this objective, you may consider opting for online reputation management services. The service is run by professionals who have an in depth understanding of the online market. They should also have a sufficient knowledge of the product or service you offer as well as the clientele base. Once your clients trust your site, you can be sure that they will frequent it and transact business with you. However, negative publicity is always a challenge for all online entrepreneurs. You need to deal with it on a continuous basis. Such publicity comes from competitors and a few upset clients. Part of your online reputation policy should aim at addressing complaints from customers. Find out which part of the service they did not like. Give them an assurance that your team is working on the matter.

Incorporate and utilize the section about your business. Highlight things like when the business was formed and the experience you have in the industry. Make your site look credible by updating its content. Give user tips and useful information that will make people want to come to you for help. Avoid common typing and spelling errors. They create an impression of a non-professional business practitioner.. Use the right combination of colors and images. More importantly, liaise with people or organizations that provide online reputation management services. Written By Nicholas Kuria Inspired Concepts

In order to keep a good reputation, ensure that all the information on your business site is credible. Make it easy and possible for potential clients to verify its contents. Let everyone who comes to your website know that you are running a real business. Provide details such as physical location, phone numbers, emails and postal addresses.

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