Setting up a Succesful business in Nigeria

Last week I met a client for lunch and I saw this bicycle parked against the wall of the restaurant. Seeing it brought some very warm memories of my childhood. We use to look forward to our annual visit to the village. We could do things that we could not do in the big city. We could ride bicycles, play outside all day and not have a care in the world. My first experience on a bike was on one that looked like this one. It has the passenger seat, that could carry your sibling or a friend. When you became really good you could carry 3 people. One on the handlebar or the center bar, yourself and a passenger on the carrier. Those were the days. Now these Raleigh's were the work horse. They served as the primary mode of transport for most people. They were cheap and reliable. I even befriended the local bicycle repair man in Mkpuka. I used to ride to Eke Akpara markrt, Umuacha, Mbutu, Mgedeala, Ugba Junction (old one) and any where I could think of. I remember the many miles I rode and

History was made last night. It was the first time an African American as the Presidential nominee of a major party, debated on the National Stage. I was one many that wanted to watch the debate. I watched the pre and post debate hype to get a sense of what the candidates would do. I listened to all the talking heads and all the opinions that they were willing to share. My conclusions: There were no major gaffes. McCain was on the offensive. Obama showed that he knew his stuff and deserved the chance at being President of the United States of America. I found it strange that McCain would not look at Obama . It also bothered me that Obama was extending a courtesy to McCain that was not returned. There were no fatal body blows. The only people that might have changed their minds were those independents that were leaning Obama . Now they are a little more sure that he is deserving of their support. I can't wait for the VP debates. Which Sarah will show up. Who do you think w

In another twist, John McCain decided to suspend his campaign to deal with the economy. What amazes me as an individu al is that we and the media continue to fall for these distractions. A President can't call time out from being President because he has to deal with other issues. A president must be able to multi-task. All week John McCain has not been able to get the attention he enjoyed with his initial selection of Sarah Palin. That in itself was the mother of all Hail Mary Passes and today he has reinser ted himself into the news. No too long ago the discussion was about lipstick on a pig, today it is about a suspension of a campaign. What will it be tomorrow?

The last 12 months has seen a decimation of the financial services industry. It started with the failure of some very big mortgage companies and people felt that would have been the end of it. Unfortunately the toxins that caused the failure of these companies have also doomed many on Wall Street. Lehman Brothers a company that has been around for over 150 years, filed for bankruptcy today . Merrill Lynch one of the stalwarts of Wall Street sold itself to Bank of America. AIG one of the giants of the insurance industry might also fail. New York State is promising it access to $20 billion dollars but they need $40 billion. Today in a meeting with Merrill Lynch employees and analysts, John Thain said that he was left with very few options. When the discussions with the Feds for a rescue plan for Lehman brothers failed, he realized that Merrill might be next. In 24 hrs the deal to sell Merrill to BOA was crafted and approved by the 2 boards. Why did this happen so quickly? Two very unrela

The other day I received an email from one of my well meaning Ngwa brothers and in it he told me how he had missed me at the 2008 convention. He told me that he had seen members of my camp / group and he would have liked to have spoken to me. In my response I said that I did not know that we had divided ourselves into camps. The only camp that I belonged to was the Ngwa camp. A few days later I got another private email from another brother and he mentioned the same camp thing and asked, who put me up to my commentary on the email that the NNAUSA President had posted to Ndingwa. It was then I understood what this camp thing was about. In NNAUSA we seem to have adopted the attitude that, being for me means to not critique what I do. If you support me you can't point out my failings. I am sure we remember kindler gentler times. Ichie Ogbunamiri, Mazi Chima Uduko, Brother Udo Jacob and Mazi Nwangwa will be at pain to recognize the NNAUSA that we have today. Mr. Nwankwo made an obs

Copyright © 2007-2008 Bill Garrett Today, Americans are living longer than ever. During the twentieth century life expectancy in America increased from age 47 to age 77. Longer life spans present problems for retirees, however. Assuming some rate of inflation, you will need an ever- increasing income to maintain your standard of living. The Question is: "Will you have enough saved to last throughout a twenty or thirty year retirement?" Social Security Social Security was designed as a pay-as-you-go plan, i.e., retired workers collect benefits funded by workers still paying into the system. Today, the system's ability to maintain current benefit levels is in jeopardy. It is apparent that your financial security in retirement is to a great extent dependent upon your personal resources. Four Risks to Your Retirement There are four major risks to your retirement: Long-term Care Expense, Inflation, Investment Risk, and Withdrawal Rate Risk. Any could th

Do you remember where you where when the first plane crashed into one of the world Trade Center Towers? I normally leave home early but for whatever reason, I was still at home at the time the first plane slammed into the WTC. I watched on TV as the 2nd plane turned and crashed into the second tower and America as we knew it changed. I drove towards the George Washington bridge and I could see the smoke rising from where the buildings where supposed to be. People just kept looking in the direction of the smoke. They could not comprehend what had happened. The innocent and the relative safety we felt evaporated. I used to remember each time that I crossed the George Washington bridge or one of the tunnels that it could be my last time. I always wondered how my children would remember me if that happened. I wondered if death would come in a loud blinding explosion or if it would be a slow painful death. It is 7 years later and I drive by the same bridge and tunnel and I don't for one