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My Biggest Obstacles

Written by: Craft Village

Article Overview: Meeting the Carvers was not by definition an ‘obstacle’, but it was something of a culture shock. It was my first visit to Africa. The Carver groups made me feel very welcome, it was a great experience and I have been back to Tabaka many times.

My Biggest Obstacles

Meeting the Carvers was not by definition an ‘obstacle’, but it was something of a culture shock. It was my first visit to Africa. The Carver groups made me feel very welcome, it was a great experience and I have been back to Tabaka many times.

Familiarizing the Carvers with Simpsons characters and the period of product design/development was difficult and expensive. Making the carvers understand the importance of quality control and the need for benchmark standard, uniform carvings was and still is a challenge.

Obtaining an official License from 20th Century Fox was challenging and a lengthy process. Being a new start up business with 20th Cent Fox on one side and a network of rural African producer groups on the other has been an interesting situation! I am thankful to Fox for supporting this project and what we are trying to achieve.

After obtaining an official Merchandising License, the process of developing branded packaging, print wok, website etc has been extremely challenging, time consuming and costly. All packaging and Printwork has been designed and is printed in Nairobi generating additional income for the Kenyan side of the business.

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Article Tags: 20th century fox, additional income, africa, carver, carvers, culture shock, nairobi, obstacle, printwork, producer groups, quality control, simpsons characters, start up business



Related Forum Posts
Re: On taking Action - [quote="jvprosperity":1hd0zjku]I was surprised to not see the words along the lines of taking deliberate action within the article. Do yo think it's an important part of the 6 points Evan summarized from the article or is it implied?[/quote:1hd0zjku] Hi Andy, I think taking deliberate action is implied in the six points. For instance, I interpret them as follows: 1. Set your sights on where you’re going - Write your goals down on paper. 2. Educate yourself - Read everyday about your field and even take courses on it. 3. Passion pays off - Enjoy what you're doing. 4. Grow your money - Invest your money. 5. No guts, no glory - Go out and sell your product/service/self everyday as if it were last. 6. The Biggest Secret? Stop spending. - Put aside as much money as you can into savings your account/retirement fund.
Product promotion strategy - The effectiveness of our products is 200% Guaranteed. It is according to our feedbacks and the quality, reliability, efficiency and utility scale of the product. The product is not similar to any conventional products in the market at the moment. It could use to clean almost everything (include clothing’s) that do not contain Caustic Soda, Ammonia, Chlorine and Fumes. In short means, safe and do not work like bleach that damage the matter or fabric of the item being washed. Biggest Objection? I'm not quite too sure about what you are trying to ask here. If it for the product, it is fine. The product sell itself and I haven’t heard back from any of the customers yet. 99.9% of our customers came back for more and brought back more customers or buy for their friends n families. There were some customers that complained the products didn’t work. But majority of them didn't follow the instruction, and we convinced them to follow the instruction and they are happy again. If it for the business, I think the major objection or disadvantage for us now is the lack of business system, resources deployment and networking.
Five Biggest Mistakes Women Make in Business - Looking for some information I found an interesting article which mentions about “Five Biggest Mistakes Women Make in Business.” 1. Flighty Networking—Some women have the mistaken notion that networking means attending as many events as possible and pitching their business. This concept has two fallacies: First, it’s crazy to spend all your time flitting between functions unless you feel confident that your target audience will be there. Rather than attending lots of events, analyze who will be at each one and then determine if it is smart for you to invest your time and money to be there. Second, when you do identify an individual as a potential prospect, describe yourself and your business in a short, interesting way. Then focus on asking questions and really listening to what they say. Remember the old adage: Be Interested rather than Interesting. 2. Being too busy to volunteer—Always be ready to volunteer. Whether it is for CED or another organization to which you belong, always be ready to offer service. I have found that every hour I invest in an organization such as CED comes back to me tenfold. 3. Inflexibility—Today’s world is one of constant change and requires creative, out-of-the-norm approaches to business problems and opportunities. You can’t run a 2007 business playing with a 1999 handbook. It just won’t work. Always be open to listening, observing and trying new things. Always be thinking, “What will my customers want five years from now?” And be sure your business is heading in that direction. 4. Showing your strength by bullying others—I know so many women who have had to be “tough” in order to survive in a male-dominated industry. But the really smart ones have taken a different approach. They have developed a cooperative, consensus-building approach in dealing with others, and this wins out every time. 5. Working from a position of scarcity—Too many businesspeople have a “scarcity mentality.” They believe there is not enough time, not enough money, not enough customers, not enough qualified employees and on and on. Of course there is enough of everything in the world; you just have to look at situations from a slightly different perspective to be able to see it all. It is up to you to share and keep the cycle of success alive, not only for your own organization, but for every business within CED. Pass on what you’ve learned through trial and error, and share your time, energy, and encouragement with others. This is the mark of a truly successful entrepreneur!


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