Truth Be Told

Egusi soup is one of those Nigerian soups that doesn't belong to just one tribe. However, I've noticed that it can be cooked in a lot of ways and this can differ based on the person cooking it or how a tribe cooks it. The choice of protein to accompany it with is endless, from seafood egusi to goat meat  egusi (best one) to plain ol' chicken (I'm sorry chicken). Also, the choice of green vegetable is based on preference and also optional especially for Egusi Ijebu (Hello my Ijebu family). Due to my current location, I can only get spinach and but I prefer to use Ugwu. Today I will be pairing mine with chicken and gizzard, let's get cooking.

Ingredients

Meat of choice (boiled,fried or grilled)
180g Egusi (grounded)
2 Onions
2 Bell Peppers
2 Tomatoes
3 Scotch Bonnets (you can adjust this according to your taste bud)
4Tbsp Palm Oil
3Tbsp Cray Fish (grounded)
350g (frozen) Spinach
450ml Stock and extra 3tbsp
1 Bullion Cube (Maggi)
1/4 tsp Salt


(NB: My recipes are measured so you can achieve a tasty dish because knowing how to cook depends on how you season/spice your dish alongside the steps. For this recipe, I didn't need the maggi
and salt because my stock was well seasoned)

Hey guys, sorry I had to take a break to focus on final year matters. Sometimes, it's not easy joggling school with a bunch of other things. Please forgive me. The last topic on the student business series was about Raising Capital, you can read it here.  I want to believe you've read the previous posts on the series and you are ready to launch your business. Let's get down to it.

• The price list should be ready: The price list is probably one of the controversial part of business planning. You are trying not to over charge because your clients will be students but don't want to undercharge because no student discounts come from buying the equipments/ingredients needed. I will advise while constructing a price list, you should put into consideration how much time and resources will go into creating an item and add a good amount percentage as profit. Also, ask yourself if you would pay that much if you were a client. Of course I'm talking about a job well done here. No mediocrity allowed. You can increase it as your skill bank develops.

• Have a planner: This is all so important. Because you have your studies to focus on, you need  to set aside special days you know you will be flexible to attend to your client's needs. Luckily because your clients will mostly be students, they will understand you won't be free every time.  

• Choose a launch date: With everything (business page with followers, tools etc) ready to kick  off, you should pick a date and build awareness towards that date. Share on all the social media pages and let the prospective clients anticipate. It builds excitement instead of just surprising them (some can argue the element of surprise can also help a brand). Be sure to include all the info on what you will offer.

On friendships: Choose your friends carefully. Differentiate your company from your crowd. In my 1st year, I didn't really pay much attention to this detail because I was open-minded to meet different types of people from all over the world but you need to also consider those you bring closer. I had a 'friend' then that would come over to my room, I would teach her the little Biostatistics I knew but when it was time to reciprocate, she was always busy or had somewhere 'personal' to be. Needless to say I avoided her after a while. Thankfully, I got to make some very goal oriented, encouraging, Godly, not perfect but walking towards perfection & dependable friends. We are still friends up till date. Of cos there are ups and downs, plenty fights, challenges but they stick by you. You definitely need such people in uni but don't restrict to just people from your country/ethnicity. I know people from similar cultures are safety nets but friendships with other people from different backgrounds will broaden your horizon about other cultures, food and lifestyle. You can never know too much and you also make lifelong connections!  

A week goes by so fast it's unbelievable. I might get away with posting bi-weekly yeah? Hello beautiful people! I trust your week has been good. Finally, I'm writing on business.. and not just that but living the double life of being a student and an entrepreneur. I've said this a lot of times that before you jump into the hectic business life, get your academics on 'fleek'. I wrote a post on how to achieve that here.  Please be reminded this post is written from my experience of having a couple of businesses alongside being in medical school for the past seven years.

• Why do you want to start a business? First and foremost, you need to have a motive for starting a business. Just like any other thing in life, running a business is not an easy task. If the drive isn't there, your business will fail before it starts. Do you want to do it because you are always broke? or perhaps because you don't get enough money to flex from home? or is it because Sikira is making it with her business and you want to be like her? My advice is, make sure you have a concrete and genuine reason before you start a business. and p.s, you do not have to be business oriented to start one. Anyone can learn, it just depends on your dedication and drive hence why you need a good motive. 

On this series, I will share my advice on anything I can and mainly focus on my fellow Uni undergrads as being an undergrad is the most recent experience I have. So today, let's talk about How To Save. Grab a pen and a paper as this will be an insightful read. 

About two weeks ago, I wrote a post on my Facebook page,

Safe to say people agreed that Saving is of utmost important even when you don't earn anything for a living. Below are a few important questions that will help navigate the saving world..