WRITING YOUR BUSINESS PLAN: 8 QUESTIONS THAT PREPARE YOU TO WRITE A MISSION STATEMENT FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Mission statements come in all shapes and sizes, each reflecting the nature of the company it represents. 

Some mission statements include definitions of company values, what the companies do, or descriptions of the customers the companies plan to serve. 

The 8 questions that you need to answer when writing a mission statement for your business are: 

1. What exactly do we do? 

2. What products and services do we offer? 

3. Who is our ideal customer? 

4. What customer needs do we meet, and what benefits do we provide? 

5. What markets and geographic areas do we serve? 

6. What sets us apart from our competition? 

7. What’s the best thing a satisfied customer can say about us? 

8. What gets us most excited about the company’s future? 

After answering basic questions about your business and evaluating how your answers relate to one another, you’re ready to transform your ideas into a mission statement. 

Remember that:

 As you describe who you are, what you do, and what sets you apart, try to make your mission statement as short and sweet as possible. 

 Use plain language so that your mission statement can be understood by everyone. 

 Make your mission statement very specific with messaging that has a strong sense of conviction and commitment.

 Stick to simple, straightforward explanations. 

LET THE PROS DO WHAT THEY DO BEST!

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NOTE: We now have a physical location for in-person services at K-City Corridor, Shop. No. 6B. Behind YWCA, opp. Palmers Hotel, off Omolo Agar Rd, at Municipal Market, Kisumu. 

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DEAR FREELANCE WRITERS? WHAT RATES ARE YOU CHARGING?

What are “The Right Rates” for freelance writers? Should you charge by the hour, the page, or per task/project? Freelance writers have a lot of options when setting rates. Some people even set monthly or annual retainers for their more long-term clients. 

This article will show you how to charge hourly rates. When setting hourly rates, freelance writers ought to take into account their speed, value and income goals. 

You need to work backwards and determine these four items: what income you’d like to make this year; what weekly salary you’ll need to make to meet that goal; how many hours you’re willing to work each week; and how many weeks you want to work. This will give you your hourly rate. 

Most freelance writers probably shy away from advertising the high hourly rate for fear that they could scare off a client. But remember, you want clients who value your skills and talents, so focus on the quality of your projects – not the quantity. A few high-paying clients is always better than tons of low paying ones. 

If you’re really scared of charging those sky-high hourly rates, take your math a step further and figure out a per-word rate instead. 

To determine this, you’ll first need to see how many words you can write in an hour. A good way to do this is to just monitor your next project. Then follow these steps: start a stopwatch when you begin writing; stop the watch when you’re done and note the word count; divide the minutes you worked by the number of words completed; and multiple that number by 60. That’s how many words you can complete in an hour. 

Now, once you have that, it’s time to determine your per-word rate. To do that, just use this simple formula: your hourly rate / your number of words per hour. This number is what you should be charging clients for every single word you write. 

Always remember, if you’re afraid of charging clients too much, take time to develop a niche. Study up on a subject you’re particularly interested in, and make yourself an expert. The more expertise you have in an area, the more willing your clients will be to pay top cash. 

And next time you’re bidding on a project or you’re approached by a new client, make sure you’re choosing the right rates and the right types of rates. You need to show your services offer value, and by undercutting the true rate you deserve, you’re only hurting yourself and your career in the long run. 

Only you can control your career’s fate, so take charge and become the successful writer I know you can be. 

AVAILABLE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN KENYA

Here is a list of open funding opportunities for women entrepreneurs in Kenya.

1.   United States Africa Development Foundation

Deadline: 25/02/2022

The United States African Development Foundation (USADF), in partnership with the Stanbic Kenya Foundation (SKF), invites applications from small and medium enterprises, cooperatives, and producer groups for grant financing and local support to help them address gaps in their internal systems and capabilities to 100% meet investment requirements by commercial investors.

Applications will only be accepted from registered private entities operating in Kenya.

Maximum Award US $50,000

For more information, visit https://www.usadf.gov/apply

 

2.   Right Sharing of World Resources - Kenya 

Deadline: Cycle of May 31 & November 30

RSWR is a Quaker organization supported primarily by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in the United States. RSWR has two main goals: 1) Provide grants for women in the developing world to begin small income-generating businesses so that they may help themselves and their families out of poverty. 2) Help Quakers in the United States learn about the negative effects of poverty in the developing world and the negative effects of materialism in North America. 

RSWR focuses its funding in Kenya in the districts of: 1. Siaya County, 2. Kisumu County, 3. Homa Bay County, 4. Migori County. 5. Kisii County. 6. Nyamira County, 7. Vihiga County, 8. Kakamega County, 9. Bungoma County, 10. Busia County, 11. Nandi County, 12. Trans Nzoi County, 13. Uasin-Gishu County. 

Up to US $5,500 for a one year project. Each group may receive only one grant. 

For more information, visit  https://rswr.org/sites/default/files/Guidelines%20for%20Proposals%20-%20KENYA-new%20criteria%20(1).pdf

 

3.   AFDB: Transitioning Women Entrepreneurs from the Informal to the Formal Economy

Deadline: 25/02/2022

The African Development Bank (The Bank) plays a catalytic role in accelerating efforts to address gender inequality and drive inclusive economic transformation for women across Africa through mainstreaming gender in its operations and implementing targeted initiatives dedicated to African women. To further push forward the agenda of gender equality and women’s empowerment across the continent, the Bank is also investing in targeted initiatives through specific projects specifically designed to impact women such as the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA), a flagship initiative that specifically focuses on increasing inclusive finance for women entrepreneurs on the continent. AFAWA’s primary objective is to bridge the $42 billion finance gap for women entepreneurs in Africa and to unlock their entrepreneurial capacity and full potential.

For more information, visit https://www.afdb.org/en/documents/call-proposals-transitioning-women-entrepreneurs-informal-formal-economy

ALBERT EINSTEIN ONCE OBSERVED THAT...

"there is a grotesque contradiction between what people consider to be my achievements and abilities and the reality of who I am and what I'm capable of."

FREELANCE WRITING TRAINING

Are you a budding or aspiring writer who wants to publish or do freelancing? 

Do you feel that most individuals or entities offering writing courses are charging exorbitant fees?

Are you pressed for time to attend face-to-face classes?

DO NOT GIVE UP ON YOUR WRITING DREAMS, WE ARE RIGHT HERE ON TIME! We shall….  

·  offer you a well-researched writing content that is easy to contextualize;

·  offer you flexibility on time and payment while attending the writing courses.  

FACTS ABOUT YOUR RESUME

Your resume is the most financially important document you will ever own: when your resume works, you work; when it doesn’t, you don’t. 

It’s the primary branding tool to introduce yourself to your professional world, and properly fashioned, it ensures that prospective employers and future colleagues see you as you want to be seen. 

Slack off on your resume and you can say goodbye to that new job and career success. 

No one likes writing a resume, but it’s an essential part of defining a commodity that your professional world is eager to embrace. 

When it comes to a job search, you are a commodity, and your resume is the styling and packaging that sells the product. 

This is critical in a world where your resume all too often disappears into resume databases with millions of others. 

When recruiters do find it, your resume will get a scan lasting five to forty-five seconds, and if a clearly defined and relevant brand doesn’t jump out, they’ll move on to the next one. 

Your resume should resonate with recruiters on that first scan and also on deeper, more careful readings. 

Remember: Managers hate to interview; they just want to find and hire someone who gets the job, so they can get back to work. 

Your resume should convince hiring managers that you are a competent professional who gets the job. 

Abraham Lincoln once said, “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I would spend seven hours sharpening my ax.”

 

VIRTUAL ASSISTANT | JOB SEARCHING TECHNIQUES

Are you a College or University graduate looking for scholarship, employment, business, & travelling opportunities? 

Do you feel you have inadequate information regarding available opportunities? 

Do you experience inaccessibility to technological tools? 

Are you unable to demonstrate what it takes to meet expectations of available opportunities?

DO NOT FRET, WE ARE HERE FOR YOU! We shall…..   

·       regularly share every available scholarship, employment, business, & travelling opportunities with you way before the deadline; 

·       walk you through the application process that meets the opportunity’s requirements and expectations; 

·       train you on job-hunting and interview techniques that accelerate your career progression; 

·       offer you affordable rates considering that you may not be earning money and could be depending on your family members for financial support   

TOP 5 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE GRANT PROPOSAL WRITING

1. Write like you talk 

Too many people think that using long words and convoluted sentences makes them sound professional and authoritative. They’re wrong. See if you can turn your writing into a conversation with the reader. Reading your written work aloud is a good way to put it to the test. If the voice you hear doesn’t sound friendly, straightforward, and passionate about the cause, try again. 

2. Find out what makes your own writing flow 

Avoid creating an exhaustive outline before setting pen to paper. Some excellent writers like to begin by writing in bursts and later weaving them together to discover a structure. This could be an onerous task. However, if you have your own style of getting your thoughts out, go with what works for you. 

3. Be your own editor 

When you are finished writing something, read it over with a critical eye. Look for issues like:

• overlong sentences. Any sentence that runs on for more than two lines can probably be chopped. 

• boring or extraneous words. Eliminate every word that’s not necessary to the sentence. For words that cannot be removed, see whether they can be replaced with a more expressive alternative. Give your thesaurus a workout! 

• potentially misleading word order. We all love to laugh at sentences that say “I love baking my family and my friends!” and the like—but some of your supporters may be less than amused if you announce that “volunteers help burn victim’s family!” 

• passive voice. The passive voice is well named; it sounds as if the writer wearied off the cause long ago. Instead, use active statements that explain who did what. 

4. Never, ever send anything out without a final readthrough. 

Mistakes and typos can lurk in any document—even one that’s been read a dozen times. Ask someone you trust to give your written work a careful going over. Also, if you can, put every document aside for a few hours or days before you finalize it. You’ll be amazed at what pops out at you—or what new inspirations arise—with a fresh reading. 

5. Lose the lingo. 

After you’ve written a few grant proposals and attended grant writing trainings organised by NGOs, your head will be full of NGO jargons. Your organization’s own area of expertise is probably jargon laden, too. You’ll have to learn what the funders’ words mean and use them when funders or others won’t be happy hearing any other word—but don’t let them take over your entire vocabulary. Even the funders fall asleep when they read too much jargony stuff. 

CONCEPT NOTES & GRANT PROPOSALS | WEB & GRAPHIC DESIGN | DOCUMENTATION & REPORTING

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 Are you a CSO (CBO, SHG, FBO, Agencies of women, youth, elderly, pwd, plhiv) registered less than 3 years and still in developing stage?

 Do you feel that you have inadequate information on available Requests for Proposals (RFP) and/or existing donors? 

 Do you feel that you possess inadequate skills on concept / proposal writing and grant management?

LOOK NO FARTHER, WE ARE HERE AT YOUR DOORSTEP! We shall…..  

• assist you to popularize your organisation to partners and donors by designing your organisation’s website & social media platforms; 

• assist you to undergo organisational capacity assessment and help you develop strategies that fit donor requirements; 

• ghost-write your organisation’s reports and pertinent documents;

• assist you identify requests for proposals way before the deadline and walk you through developing concepts & grant proposals that win.  

5 MYTHS THAT KEEP FREELANCERS FROM GETTING PAID WHAT THEY ARE REALLY WORTH

https://ideas.ted.com/5-myths-that-keep-freelancers-from-getting-paid-what-theyre-really-worth/