Newsletter 2014 - Issue 1 by Minerva

1095 DAYS

Volume 1, Issue 1

The

job market

Of being an enterprise

Not The Entrepreneur

is not the problem

The problem may be Your

interview

A bad a qualification or experience mismatch

Energy Healing The Science Behind it

She’s The Enterprise

Co-working SPACE a community for

entrepreneurs 10 features

you must use

HOW TO

ScoRE A Photographers

Find your inspiration

ways to make sure your start-up

FAILS

SCHMOOZE OVER A DRINK

Introduce yourself, please

It’s sweet It’s sugar free

Not The Entrepreneur

GREATEST WEAKNESS?

3 SKILLS You STILL LACK

I’m horrible at evaluating people.

Ÿ Ability to unhesitantly talk

HOW WAS LIFE IN DUBAI? I sat at the Dubai airport with no clue

about money Ÿ Compartmentalising -

about where to go when someone

thinking about one thing

randomly tossed a newspaper on my

without linking it to a

table An ad in the newspaper helped me

hundred others.

find accommodation but it was living in that accommodation that was a bigger challenge. I started at 1,500 dirhams a month so I could only afford bed space.

Ÿ Maintaining work-life

balance.

FAVOURITE QUOTES Ÿ ”As I would not be a slave,

She’s The Enterprise

A 10 by 10 feet room, with 9 girls and a

so I would not be a master.

greater number of cockroaches. These 9

This expresses my idea of

ENTREPRENEUR OR ENTERPRISE?

girls belonged to different countries,

democracy.”

It’s an amazing feeling to know that people consider

different religions, different financial

Abraham Lincoln.

Minerva to be a fully grown enterprise. What they don’t

backgrounds. I hated it initially. But

know is that behind the scenes, I manage everything

with time, I fell in love with my job. I

theory, change the facts.”

singlehandedly. From conception of event ideas to

loved the independence. I totally enjoyed

Albert Einstein

implementation, graphic designing, managing the facebook

the food. Dubai introduced me to retail

page, answering phone calls, writing agreements, pricing,

therapy. It was an amazing experience

2 THINGS YOU FIND MOST ANNOYiNG

packaging, intern training, etc to sometimes even cleaning

with lots of learning.

Ÿ People who complain all the

and dusting, making tea for a client and what not. So, in

WHY DID YOU COME BACK?

effect what people see as an enterprise is me running

I came on a one year sabbatical but then

around like a headless chicken.

Minerva happened.

etiquette - whether it’s

ENTREPRENEURSHIP - Tough for the fairer sex?

DO YOU REGRET COMING BACK?

writing an e-mail or

I miss life in Dubai but I definitely

behaviour at work.

I feel otherwise. Don’t we get to surpass all the queues?

don’t regret being here.

IS THE JOB MARKET BIASED? I think it’s fair for organisations to make decisions that are in their best interest. And I’ll say it here - even though I’m a woman myself. From my personal experience, I’ve found women to be much more difficult to handle. They have amazing mood swings; they can’t work when their cat dies. They’ll cry if they’re not performing well. Having said that, there are also those women who are placed at important positions in organisations and are doing a great job. If you have the skill, no bias is going to stop you.

WERE YOU A BORN ENTREPRENEUR? I was born with two very important skills for an entrepreneur: Being a tough cookie and enjoying taking risks

cRAZIEST RISK YOU’VE TAKEN SO FAR Flying to Dubai without a clue about where I was going to live - my first trip outside of Pakistan. I got an offer to join an ACA articleship on the condition that I join immediately. No way was I going to miss the opportunity.

YOUR GREATEST STRENGTH Nothing can keep me demoralised for long. I find motivation in the worst of situations . It’s naturally that way which is great!

5 lessons from being an entrepreneur Ÿ Start small Ÿ Learn to do almost everything

Ÿ ”If the facts don’t fit the

time about everything. Ÿ Lack of professional

1 THING YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT My laptop

FUNNIEST MEMORY

yourself but also learn to delegate

This will be embarrassing

tasks

but... I love watching the sun

Ÿ Accept failure and move on

rise. You know how in movies

Ÿ Start your day early - it increases

the sun always rises from

average daily productivity 10 folds Ÿ Take a break - it is crucial to success

3 SKILLS You’ve DEVELOPED IN THESE 3 YEARS? Ÿ Patience to accept people; their

mistakes and opinions. Ÿ Delegating to the right people, the

right way. Ÿ Initiating conversation in a gathering

across the sea and it’s so beautiful? So, once I sat all night at the beach waiting for the sun to rise. It started getting brighter, the night started to turn to day and the sun never rose. Realised later that the sun doesn’t always have to rise from across the sea like in movies. It was right behind me!

Sana Khalid is a chartered accountant by profession, running a social youth enterprise by the name of Minerva since 2011. Her core expertise include IFRS interpretation, financial analysis and consultancy, internal and external audit, trainings in MS Excel and MS Word, and event management. She is also a practicing Reiki healer. Sana currently resides in Islamabad and can be contacted at sana.k@minervites.org

Minerva will soon be launching its co-working facility in Islamabad. a community Start-ups, freelancers, bloggers, for teams and individuals interested in joining as members, partners, mentors, W H O S H O U L D J O I N AMENITIES OFFERED BY or in any other capacity, drop an e-mail at A CO-WORKING SPACE? CO-WORKING SPACES info@minervites.org Ÿ Start-up Entrepreneurs AROUND THE WORLD

Co-working SPACE

entrepreneurs

If you have a skill, a laptop and an internet connection, you may be ready to start your own enterprise. Co-working, with all its benefits, offers a better alternative to home offices. Ÿ Bootstrappers and digital nomads Many of us are trying to figure out ways of working online. You can hop between cafes or simply find a coworking space. Ÿ Freelancers There’s so much inspiration a coworking space can offer. And of course, the chances of another coworking member hiring you cannot be negated.

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ

Vibrant work environment Wi-Fi facility Printing facilities Coffee / Tea / Snack bars Meeting spaces Event / Workshop spaces Seminars by important personalities and mentors

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ

Community nights Professional services Reception desk facilities Mail box Telephone line Stationery Access to mentors and venture capitalists

CO-WORKING SPACES IN PAKISTAN Co-working is a new but trending concept in Pakistan. Some interesting co-working spaces have started across the country and more are linedup. Here are some of them: 1. DotZero in Karachi: They launched in November 2013 and offer a vibrant environment for their members. Visit their website: www.dotzero.pk 2. The HQ in Karachi: This is soon to be launched. Visit their website: thehq.pk 3. Basecamp Peshawar: One of the first few to launch in Pakistan. Visit their website: www.basecamp.pk 4. The Garage in Islamabad: Soon to be launched at Minerva

TOP 7 REASONS TO DITCH YOUR OFFICE SETTING AND JOIN A C O - WO R K I N G S PA C E 1.No need to look for suitable office space, pay heavy rentals, furnish the office, worry about maintenance and logistics, hire people to run it, and what not. 2. Access to the coffee machine and printer and more importantly to the exchange of ideas through informal interactions while you stand there with other members of the co-working facility. Bounce off ideas, seek expert advice, find prospective partners or employees. 3. Unexpected encounters and valuable connections that would otherwise be difficult to manage in a traditional office setting. 4. Flexibility - no long-term contracts, adapting to changes in the size of your team, deciding your own work hours and paying only for the hours, days or months you actually use. 5. Add credibility to your otherwise unknown start-up. 6. Chances of survival through collaboration are higher.

Some co-working spaces 7. It’s fun being an entrepreneurial community. Imagine the energy! around the world

Be the first to join

ways to make sure your start-up

FAILS 1. BAD TEAM This is also the reason why many startups commence with more than one founder - it is easier to pool expertise. Your venture is as good as the people you hire. Being complacent about hiring will cost you. Be ruthless about hiring AND firing (when you make a bad choice).

2. LOST PERSPECTIVE Entrepreneurs tend to get so engrossed in the nitty gritty that they lose perspective. They start focusing on short-term results, losing focus of the eventual goal.

3. FAILURE TO PIVOT An entrepreneur cannot afford to be stubborn about their idea for too long. Working hard to make things work is part of the deal but if an idea or strategy isn’t working out for too long, it is important to pivot and adapt to the market needs.

The

job market is not the problem

The problem may be Your

interview

A bad a qualification or experience mismatch

I don’t remember anyone saying how well the job market was doing. But I do know that it kept getting worse over time. Past 3 years, we’ve been running a training and internship program at Minerva to help students and fresh graduates understand why they don’t get hired and help them become more employable or resourceful enough to start their own venture.

MOST COMMON MISTAKES CANDIDATES MAKE

10 1. 2.

Grammatical errors

If you’re not bothered about the quality of your CV and the first impression you make on your prospective employer with it, the employer isn’t bothered either.

One standard CV

Employers want you to write a CV specifically for the job you are applying for and how your skills and qualifications will help you fulfill your responsibilities as an employee. This means one standard CV for all jobs and organisations isn’t good enough.

tips to help you move up the corporate ladder.

2. 3.

Focus on responsibilities, not achievements

Learn to make it easier for your boss

A print out of your job description isn’t needed. What did you accomplish for yourself and for your employer as part of the job, is what most employers are interested in.

Help your boss focus on more important tasks. You can do this by making sure your work is error-free, making an effort on your own before you go running to your boss for help, and offering to help with things you think you can do well even if they don’t fall under your domain.

4. 5.

Turning in late for the interview

Whether you are 5 minutes late or half an hour, it doesn’t matter. You’ve just ruined it for yourself.

It’s on your CV but you don’t know

If you’re mentioning a skill or knowledge about a topic in your CV, make sure you’re ready to demonstrate it too. ‘That was three years ago, I don’t remember,’ isn’t good enough.

Offer to solve problems

Employers hate people who complain and point out problems all the time. If you point out a problem, be ready to offer a solution too.

Offer an ‘and’

Peers at the same level as you are likely to offer the same education and experience as yourself. How are you better than them? Make sure to be able to give more than what you were hired for. You may be hired as a photographer but can you also help with ideas for the next newsletter, or better product packaging, or connecting with a prospective client?

You’ve applied for a job at an organisation, are there for an interview but have no idea what they do. Well done, there’s the door for you to leave.

You are applying for managerial level but are dressed up like a college student

If you want to be hired as a manager, you’ve got to look like one.

b Minerva

offers a one-stop solution for students, educational institutes and organisations through its Young Professionals Training Program In 3 years, we have trained 13 batches of students and fresh graduates who left as polished professionals. Organisations/institutes interested in partnering with Minerva, write to sana.k@minervites.org

6. 7. 8.

You’re not sure what the organisation does

You take too much time answering basic questions about yourself

You all know you will be asked about your greatest strength and weakness. You know it. But you never thought it would be so difficult to say what they are and you take more than a few minutes to respond.

You talk more than is required

Talking too much can go against you for a variety of reasons. It could expose your lack of focus and clarity of thought. If you are being asked a yes or no question, the answer must be no longer than a yes or no.

10.

You try and act smart ending up saying one of the following:

1. How much does this job pay? 2. My previous boss was a jerk. 3. I see myself in your place in 5 years. 4. I don’t think I have any weakness. 5. I’m the best option for this job - it’ll be a bad idea to not hire me.

Energy Healing The Science Behind it

Energy healing is gaining popularity by the day. But as more and more people stress on the spiritual and philosophical explanations surrounding it, you and many more may be more than skeptical about the truth behind it. Here, we try to provide the basic working of energy healing and the science behind it. You can find more by visiting: www.facebook.com/MyReikiClinic

Our knowledge of the human body is still very limited. There are some things we can see only by using advanced technologies and under microscopes. There are other things that are still not visible to us and hence we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know about them. From studies in physics, we know that everything is made of atoms and molecules. These atoms and molecules generate some form of energy and send and receive some form of electromagnetic waves.

The electric and magnetic field created by all body cells and organs can be measured through various laboratory and diagnostic tools. They are tightly interconnected and highly synchronized through connective tissue (the tissue connecting all body cells and organs) forming what scientists call â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the living matrixâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; through which every cell receives information about other parts of the body. While ancient medicine has spoken about energy centers and channels and how these channels deliver energy to every cell in the body, not too long ago, science introduced the Pulsed Electro Magnetic Field therapy which uses different frequency ranges that are applied to injured bone to jump-start healing and bone repair.

Your television remote works using wireless technology. The cell phone works at even greater distances. You can listen and speak to people anywhere in the world. What about bluetooth?

By Appointment Only.

| Relaxation sessions | Headaches & Migraines | | Bone repair | Chronic illnesses | Ms Sana Khalid - Level 2 Reiki Practitioner with 7 years of Reiki experience Ms Shahida Khalid - Reiki Master with over 7 years of Reiki experience

www.facebook.com/MyReikiClinic 051 - 26 56 324 | At Minerva - House 4-A, St 55, F-7/4

Note: Reiki complements medical treatment and is not a replacement or alternative for it.

Humans also have the ability to control and direct energy. The roots of human problems are energy problems. Thought, emotions and feelings are all followed by energy. Energy problems, if left uncorrected, result in physical problems. There is sufficient evidence that meditations, proper breathing, guided intentions, positive thinking, and healthy lifestyle can deeply affect energy and in many cases cause healing of not only emotional and psychological ailments, but also of many physical symptoms and chronic diseases.

3 Photography Projects to help give your creativity a push

Find a construction site and take a picture or two every day. These could be from the same angle every day so you end up with images that show how the building developed over time.

Take photographs of yourself - different versions of you, how you are and how people perceive you to be; how you would like to be. Get creative, use props, dress up, act it out.For inspiration, visit www.soofiasays.com. Soofia hosted one of the most creative and inspiring self-photography workshop at Minerva and is doing amazing work as a freelancer. Photo credit: Soofia

Take photographs of a collection of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;anythingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. It could be feet, vegetables, clouds that look like faces, circular objects or anything at all.

10 features

you must use

Here are Top 5 features of MS Word

1 Blogging Yes, you can directly write, edit and post blogs from MS Word without the frustration of using a web-based text editor.

From timed experiments with interns and employees at Minerva, we have concluded two things:

a a

Most individuals believe they know MS Office when they actually only know the very basics of entering data. Individuals who have better knowledge of MS Office applications and features are able to deliver better projects in half the time.

Here are Top 5 features of MS Excel

1 Formulas There’s a formula for addition and subtraction but there are also formulas for one-click depreciation calculation, mathematical functions, engineering calculations and what not. If you realise the power of formulas in Excel, you’ll realise what a beast this software is. You might just turn into the irresistable analyst your organisation has been looking for.

formatting 2 Conditional This is one of my personal favourites. It turns the most boring data into a hot workbook. When something automatically changes colour because it has met a certain criteria, how can it not be cool?

3 Visual Basic for Applications

VBA is Excel’s language. If you know it, you can make excel do crazy things for you like generate a monthly report and e-mail it to a list of people automatically while you sip over a cup of coffee.

4 Drop down and form control

Who doesn’t like being in control? Understanding these features can help you control the contents people can input in an Excel file and make it interactive and less time-costing.

Tables 5 Pivot These can be time saving and can make you look good in front of your boss or supervisor. These are ideal tools for analysts and managers. They can quickly answer your ‘Top 10 customers’, ‘6 months sales trends’ in the form of graphs and complex charts and reports.

2 Password and Restriction

You don’t want everyone opening your confidential documents on shared computers / accounts? Or want that only the things you allow the user to change can be edited and nothing else? Yup, it’s possible!

Table of Contents & Referencing 3 Automatic We’ve seen directors and CEOs wasting ages editing and re-editing tables of contents for pages, printing documents again and again to ensure the table of contents matched. Not just that, every time you add another graph or table, you have to manually go back to every paragraph where you’ve referred to the table or graph number. You’re doing it wrong.

4 Mail Merge

Personalisation is everything these days. Making your clients feel special. But you can’t be expected to write to each client with their name individually? Word can do it for you in a click.

5 Convert to PowerPoint Presentation

You have a document and want to convert the text into a PowerPoint Presentation? It’s possible. You will need to tweak the presentation to add pictures and clip art but the text from a Word document can be converted very easily into a presentation.

a GET REGISTERED Corporate and Individual

MS OFFICE WORKSHOPS Write to sana.k@minervites.org

HOW TO SCORE AN ‘A’ GRADE I remember coming out of the examination hall completely blank. Once I was done with the exam, there was no reason why I needed to remember anything I had spent so many months trying to learn. I got straight A’s in my O’ and A’ Levels examinations but do I remember what I studied back then? Not really. The focus of most parents and students has shifted from ‘learning’ to a constant chase for securing A’s.

Minerva runs a Student Navigation Program for O’ and A’ Levels students in particular. The objective of the program is to enable students to score better but also to understand concepts better for application beyond the exam. Study sessions take place in a one-on-one or small group arrangement (class sizes go up to 5 students at max).

Classes for Accounting, Economics, Business Studies and Mathematics commence in August 2014. For further details, please write to sana.k@minervites.org

We no longer send our children to schools to obtain knowledge, to develop their analytical skills, to learn to be able to question, analyse, interpret, and apply. We are, instead, so obsessed with them securing A’s that the education received at schools and universities seems to have lost all other purpose. This also means that our long-term vision is blurred. We study with the eventual aim of securing good grades and that is dependent less on the knowledge gained and more on one’s hold over examination technique. And since examination technique is the focus, sending students to tuition is no longer a matter of choice. It has become a need. Many of us are willing to pay the same teacher twice - once at school and then at the tuition center - for the same service only so our children can secure better grades. I was convinced of the need for a study program that encouraged real learning and this led me into initiating SNP (see left), where we focus on all three aspects of a student’s success: Ÿ Thorough understanding of concepts and their application in real life Ÿ Examination technique Ÿ Habits that can be incorporated into one’s lifestyle to improve learning, concentration and

focus, memory and more.

Please share your views at sana.k@minervites.org

Every Saturday, we have an informal networking session for people with shared interests. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how it works. 1. A topic is identified: The topic can be suggested by Minerva, or any individual or organisation 2. A moderator / mentor is identified: Minerva approaches prospective experts / moderators / mentors for the topic. A person or an organisation with the relevant expertise can also volunteer to lead the session

With a small kitchen and an even smaller team, we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t promise anything big - just delicious, healthy

food

desserts

and

drinks.

SUGAR FREE line of desserts for diabetic patients has been a hit ever since we introduced it two years ago!

3. People with shared interests meet The Schmoozes are informal networking sessions. People get to meet others who share the same interest, make friends, find prospective partners or employees, bounce ideas, learn new things - all of this over snacks and drinks.

Schmoozes held so far Freelancers Connect The freelancers connect was hosted by Elance, represented by Mr Saad Hamid. It revolved around the idea of learning about freelancing from seasoned freelancers. Dog Lovers Schmooze The Dog Lovers schmooze was hosted by Mr Arslan Tahir, an enthusiastic dog lover and trainer. Travel & Lifestyle Photography German Photographer, on his visit to Pakistan as part of a world tour, hosted this gathering for fellow photographers to share experinces. Digital Schmooze for Google Users Members of GDG Islamabad organised and hosted the Digital schmooze to bring together Google users and introduce them to Google products they may have missed out on. Diabetes & Nutrition BioCare Labs organised the session for awareness on how to manage diabetes through good nutritional habits.

We operate from a small facility working on orders only. If you wish to place an order for your special occasions or just a get together, do s o at your earliest. Limited capacity keeps us from taking too many orders at one time.

For a detailed menu or to place an order: Visit www.facebook.com/ManosKitchen

We have grown stronger over 3 years. Thank you for being part of the Minerva Family

To find out how to become our exclusive member and avail discounted / free exhibitions, expos, workshops, and promotional opportunities: www.minervites.org/members.htm

Registration details available on www.facebook.com/minervites

OTHER EVENTS TO LOOK FORWARD TO Children’s Paper Art Workshop Study Programs for GRE Learn the art of paper folding, quilling, recycling and more!

Prepare to excel in GRE

Finance and Accounting Records

Study Program for O/A Level Exams Prepare to excel in O/A Levels Accounting, Economics,

For small businesses and start-ups

Ludo Tournament

64 players. 2 days. 1 winning team. Rs 5,000 cash prize!

MS Excel Workshop First step to becoming a pro. Use Excel for more than just data entry

‘The Garage’ Launch

A co-working space for start-ups, entrepreneurs, bloggers, freelancers.

To receive more details on these and other events, send us your e-mail address and contact number at: | www.facebook.com/minervites |www.minervites.org | info@minervites.org

Business Studies, Mathematics and more!

MS Word Workshop

Spend less time making impressive projects, proposals, and other documents

Young Professionals Training Program (YPTP)

Students and fresh graduates get the opportunity to become more employable, better professionals. They secure certificates in different organisational skills, focusing on their personal interest while working as interns in a department of their choice.

minervites www.minervites.org