Friday, December 18, 2009

BE BOLD in NEWSPAPERS, Radio & TV!


Ladies and Gentlemen,

Its almost time for the BE BOLD project at citizen kofi entertainment! This 2nd of January 2010! Network with companies and young entrepreneurs will be at 3pm - 6pm, Showcase will be from 6pm - 10pm and definitely an amazing after party right at citizen Kofi to end the night!

We just got published in the Weekend World Newspaper December 14 - 18 edition so grab a copy if you can! Aside from that expect to hear about us on Y FM and see our live interviews on eTV very soon!

Are you excited about the event? Because we certainly are!!!

Lets BE BOLD (Bring Education & Build Opportunity for Leadership and Development)!

See you on Jan 2nd 2010
For tickets call 0208118172 or buy them from koala shopping center or citizen kofi in Osu

Monday, December 14, 2009

Mind your own business!

After graduation I had a sense of panic thinking I need to find a job so that I can pay my bills and start living my life. I think i panicked more because that is exactly what everyone around me was doing. A lot of my friends had graduated and although they had a difficult time finding a job in this economic crisis, they found one. Some were ok with their jobs; others just hated every bit of it, but had to do it for the sake of paying their bills. When my time came, I searched a little. I woke up and thought APPLY! I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but applying just made me feel better so I DID. In my cover letters every job became by passion simply because I JUST HAD TO FIND A JOB. I applied for engineering jobs, accounting, banking, investing, nursing...I KID I KID, but I really wasn’t filtering. Luckily I got a couple of great interviews which I thought I did really well in but when I didn’t make it through I wasn’t the least bothered because it didn’t really matter much. I had a plan in my mind. Its almost like I knew were I wanted to go, but wasn’t feeling the vibe of how to really get there. So instead I spent a lot of time thinking and arranging my life after graduation and not to forget ENJOYED the feeling of NO SCHOOL!! Its a great feeling!

I had started a little business (www.inenorganized.com) on the side that was bringing in some income so I wasn’t too worried about the job thing. It gave me time to wonder why it was so important for me to jump into a job just so when I was asked “SO what are you doing these days?” I would have something smart to say like “Oh I work for so and so” as supposed to “oh I’m not really doing anything yet!” I hate that question sooo much but even I find myself asking it to people who tell me that they just graduated too. One guy I asked said very boldly with a huge grin and satisfaction on his face “NOTHING!!!”. Talk about BE BOLD. Honestly its great if you get a job right after graduation, but if you don’t DO TAKE IT EASY. Know that it happens all the time. People find jobs and hate it, people find jobs and loose it within two weeks and others just can’t find. I’m a strong believer in “everything happens for a reason”. Believe in yourself and have faith.

Between my own panicking, working on the side, applying for all the jobs in the world, taking a BOLD step to come to Ghana I found what I love to do most and thank God everyday for really giving me a chance to experience the saying “do a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”. Mine was surely by chance though because I KNOW that if I would have landed some job that made some good money too, no matter how much I hated it, I might have stuck around for a little bit until I found something else to do. Big ups to all those working long hard hours with a job they hate! Know why your there and get out as soon as you can and its all good.
I read somewhere that you should mind your own business. At the end of the day everyone needs to make money somehow. You working for a company is making your boss richer. Even if you get paid well you end up spending more. The more you make the more ideas you have about trips to take, a car to buy and a house to own for instance. These things all increase your expenses and liabilities. The best thing to do is to mind your own business in the sense that you have to start thinking of something to do that will increase your revenue generating assets. If you’re making money, start saving and investing in something that will generate income aside from the income that you are making from your current job. I know fresh graduates who work and have also started doing business in beads, cakes, websites, clothes, singing, real estate, stocks, bonds, event planning, interior designing, writing books. You name it! Be creative and think big! Whatever you do make sure its lucrative and doesn’t necessarily take up a lot of your time just your intelligence, talent or skill. Oh yeah don't forget some hard work is necessary. "work for boss, then mind ur own business" for instance. And remember not everyone has to start a business. There are people who are good at those things and then there are also people who are just not built for it. If everyone in this world was a CEO then how would we survive?

Now about the The BE BOLD event on 2nd of January. It has been a little hectic. We have a great team with different committees. Everyone is working hard on their part. We have already inviting over 70 companies to attend the BE BOLD event. Honestly Christmas time is not the best time to invite companies or anyone to attend anything serious because everyone is in the party mood and holiday spirit. So we are shooting to invite as many companies as possible and hoping for at least 50% of the companies to attend the networking part of the event. The rest of the networking will consist of business minded people and well a chance for you to really get to know people. Our designers and artists are ready for a show of a lifetime! Buy your tickets as soon as possible. The venue does have a maximum capacity you know!!!!

Thanks to all our supporters and sponsors!

XO XO
BE BOLD!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

TGIF

I finally understand the meaning of Thank God its Friday! Why?! Because I finally started working! YAY!!! Although I LOVE LOVE LOVE it, Fridays are still very special cus you know you get a break. I started working for Global Media Alliance, which is a leading International media and entertainment company. GMA was founded in South Africa and now has its headquarters in Ghana with offices in Nairobi and Johannesburg. Their affiliate offices are located in London and Lagos.. They introduced the first international multiplex cinema (silverbird) in Ghana, a lifestyle store, the first Sunday newspaper and also have a tv station and two radio stations. Feel free to check out the website www.gmaworld.com to read more about what they do.

Best of all I got the position as events management executive for GMA. For those of you who know me YOU KNOW that this is me to the T. It’s my passion. I live and breath event planning now especially because I plan all the events at Global Media Alliance, including events for their radio stations, tv station and cinema! I deal with sponsorship too so I get to meet a lot of people all the time! I think it was most important for me to not be trapped behind a desk or some office just typing away all day. With GMA I meet a lot of people, I’m always up and about creating ideas, planning, organizing. Oh its lovely! Work doesn’t even feel like work because this is what I’ve been doing for years!! So yes, I’m happy because what are the chances that you’ll find a job you love for your entry level job?

If you’ve ever lived in Ghana you know that traffic is intense! Well guess what? I drive against traffic in the morning and when im coming back from work! This is a miracle! I also started work with a wonderful co-worker. We get along so well that people keep asking whether I knew her before. WHAT ARE THE CHANCES! I think its so important for you to get along with your co-workers. A lot of the employees are young, creative, energetic and are experts at what they do! I love the vibe I’m getting from everyone and I feel very accepted into the new GMA family. This week we even had fire service department come train us on how to protect ourselves during a fire emergency! I learnt how to use a fire extinguisher well and successfully put of a fire created by them for practice! So guys SO FAR SO GOOD and I’m Loving it and I FEEL HAPPY! Thank you God for everything!

Aside from that I’m feeling the pressure of BE BOLD coming closer! Some people don’t stick to deadlines out here! Really its frustrating! Time is such a big problem. I mean you cannot successful create a schedule for the day because someone will delay you! Not by 5 minutes oh, maybe an hour to two! Its so frustrating sometimes. I’ve got a very good team on board though. Our creators are working on the final posters, our web designers are getting the website together and we have several committees working on more sponsors, recruitment and marketing. We are all so excited! We’ve had successful meetings with almost 20 people showing up to every day meetings with the core group! Its amazing how much support is out here. All you have to do is ASK!

One more thing that i definitely have to add! Without my mom supporting me I do not think this would be possible. Its a fact! An entry level job will not pay enough for anyone to be able to rent out their own place, as well as pay for electricity, phone bills, water, and transportation! EIIII, not in Ghana. Not with these ridiculous prices. Unless your job is spectacular and pays you a substantial amount or you lower your level of spending! So my suggestion is PLAN. Be smart! I used to hesitate about going back to live with my family, but how else would I have done it?! In fact its the best decision ever. Free rent, free food, and free electricity. I get to save all my money to invest in my future. In Canada all my money finished on bills before I even got my pay cheque. I’m not going to lie though I am a bit of a spendthrift either way. Its the shoes and the parties and the eating out because I’m too lazy to cook after a long day. Been here for about a month and I’ve enjoyed some small blasting here and there, but its all like music to my ears considering the benefits I get. MOMMY & DADDY I love you! I couldn’t have done this without the two of you! This is my way, you have to find yours, but know that ITS NOT EASY!

I have about two interviews I would like to share with you by the end of this week. Just had to type up my first week of work and tell you how amazing my company is! Will write up again soon!

XOXO

BE BOLD