Islam and Business Finance

Allah is the greatest, I read an article which gave examples of how some people have the best things in life and are still ungrateful and unhappy. After reflecting on the examples, I thought to myself if you do not remember Allah you cannot be happy. He blesses you with the emotions. Part of remembering Him is being thankful to Him for all the blessings He has bestowed upon you. When you are grateful for His blessings upon you He blesses you with more. That is the truth. A negative mindset attracts negativity which ungratefulness is an example and when you are ungrateful you attract worries, anxiety, depression and the likes. While a grateful heart attracts joy, love, happiness, peace and the likes. A positive mindset can also help you achieve business growth, personal growth and help you increase your wealth insha Allah. Help you achieve goodness in this life and the Hereafter. The Islamic prayers  is one medium that helps you remain thankful to Him. While making the 5 daily

Hello readers, today I will be looking at control systems you put in place in your business to safeguard your assets. A control system is the actions you put in place to record and protect the assets of a business organisation. A control environment can be seen as one of the five components of the internal control system. In other words, it is not responsible for the overall effectiveness of the internal control system but it contributes positively to it. A strong control environment includes the attitudes of the directors and management. They must be full of integrity; they must communicate and enforce integrity when it comes to dealing with employees. This will increase the confidence of the individuals charged with governance (directors) and management that their financial statement will be free from false information. In other words, it will reduce the risk of theft within business organisations. A strong control environment also encourages competency.  Your staff must not

Hello readers, today I will be writing about suave leadership. Can you remember in school, they gave you the qualities of a good leader? If you can remember a good leader must be honest, confident, tolerant, committed and emotionally stable. Well, a good leader must have these qualities. A suave leader must have all those qualities and much more. You must believe in the organisational goals. You must know that you and your team can achieve your goals if you work hard enough to achieve them. The decision still rest in Allah's Hands and hopefully He will enable you. However, He rewards hardwork. You must be able to communicate clearly to your team members.  You must also be able to delegate duties to your staff members. A suave leader has self control and empathy. They enjoy building good working relationship. A suave leader does not have to know everything but must be willing to learn from other team mates; encouraging contributions from team members. A suave leader must ex

Hello readers, some companies end up changing ownership over and over again. By this I mean that some companies are sold over and over again. Simple actions like equipping your staff with the right tools to serve customers  appropraitely is one of the reasons for such collapses within business organisation. You only sell your business if it is not profitable When an individual calls a customer service agent, the individual expect them to provide him/her with solutions to their challenges. In a situation whereby an individual knows more about the products of a company better than the customer service agent then there is a problem. Poor customer service is one of the reasons why businesses fold up. This is because when the customer service is poor most customers switch to other brands. Without your customers you will lose a lot of income as such as you need to train your staff. Training your staff adequately at the initial stage of employment is neccessary. At least one mont

Hello readers, so I will be looking at 4 processes of product development today. This includes the initial stage, product design stage, product implementation stage and the final stage. Initial Stage This looks at what the product must be like in order to meet the needs of their target markets  (potential customers). I have written an article on meeting the needs of target customers Product Design Stage  During this  stage is when the product is created and it also the stage that will contribute a lot to reducing the cost of the company. Minimal cost incurred can help you stay competitive in the market. You must focus on making sure your operating cost are low enough. When products are produced in larger quantities you fixed costs can easily be convered. Thus there must be no underutilization of your resources in order to minimize cost effectively. The way you must not underutilize your resources you must also not overutilize them as this will lead to a fall in the

Not only can technology help you with logistics, it also helps you with keeping your financial records promptly, it can also help you with proximity, as well as minimizie the risk of fraud in your business. It can also help with all other business activities.  How do we get the best set of technological facilities but I am sure it may be capital intensive but I am sure there will be some way around it. So let us find out, the best cost efficient technology is the internet which is mostly free, sites like facebook, google, linkedin and yahoo have made businesses easier and they are free except of-course you go for their premium services. You want to work with comfortable computers as well  as with software that will make your tasks easier. I can of course say google maps as made my journeys easier and I am sure you feel the same way, that is the type of technology you want to be working with , if you understand want I mean. The best set of PCs are provided by Apple, As

Hello readers, running a business is like running a marathon. You want your business to last for a very long time. Most companies last for at most 50 years. However, some have been in existence for over 300 years. We all know to be able to run a marathon  well (like I have ever participated in one, but we all can relate to a marathon) you have to manage yourself well. For you to run a marathon  clearly you have to carry out some actions in order to do well at it. No business will be existence forever, however, they can last long, you do not want your business to crumble so soon, here are the actions you carry out. 1. Pray to Allah 5 times daily, He is the greatest. Ask Him for guidance. 2. Fast for 3 days for the sake of Allah. 3. Understand the business you want to go into, you should not dabble into a business you do not understand. 4. Get additional training that will help you stay competitive in business, so you can be an expert in that field. 5. Write your

Image courtesy of Danilo Rizzuti at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, today I will be writing about starting a company that produces bottled water. So really we all know the basic ingredients for starting a business, well if you have been reading my articles you will know what you need to do. You have to draw up a business plan and raise capital for your business. You will also have to register your business with the appropraite body. Water is a basic need of man, however, there are already other companies in the market so how do you get a part of their market share First of all, you look out for the weaknesses of your competitors. It could be the price of the water or the quality of the water or the bottle itself or any other reason. After you have figured out what you want to use to compete in the market, which could be the use of small bottles to market your water and acompetitive prices or any other strategy. Next action you will be thinking of is setting up your bu

Image courtesy of marcolm at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, whatsapp? Hope you are all good. Sailing can be a form of relaxation, however, it should be done once in a while. I will be looking at two lines today. One will be the Norwegian Cruise line and the other one will be the Princess Cruise line. Norwegian Cruise line This line is a lovely one as they offer cruises across many countries. They have so many cruise line ships like Norwegian Sky, the Norwegian Sun and others. However, I will be focusing on their Norwegian Epic line whose products include The Bahamas to Florida Cruises, Carribean Cruise,s Europe Cruises, Transatlantic cruises and prices starts from $299. Cruise comes with entertainment  and food. Princess Cruise Line This one is a also a lovely one as it offer cruises across many countries. They belong to a Parent Company called Carnival Corporation & PLC. Princess Cruise Line which is a subsidiary have different cruise line ships like the

Image courtesy of think4photop at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, so today I will be telling you how to save money on fuel. I had to carry out a brief research for you all. I also learnt from it. Here are what I came up with 1. Do not speed up your car cause it burns fuel  so try not to drive your car too fast. 2. Do not warm your car for more than 30 seconds. Anything more than that will waste your fuel. 3. Do not use your brakes excessively, cause that will also help you burn your fuel. 4. You should buy your fuel in the morning,  cause as the weather condition gets hotter the density falls  therefore reducing the amount of fuel you get from the pump. 5. Diesel is more efficient than petrol.

Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, so some of you are not getting the adequate training at work and because of that you feel underdeveloped. Hopefully, business owners will learn from this. Really, your staff are one of the most important asset your company has got. And if you are not concerned about helping them develop their career then you might lose them. High staff turnover is bad for a business. I am sure you know that Yes,  you are paying them well but you are not giving the adequate training. First of all, not every individual wants to work for a business through their whole life some want to start their own businesses and if they are not learning much from the job, they might be thinking of a way to leave the job. Among their peers they also feel lost as they are not up to date with the development within their field as your company does not expose them to such. What if a situation whereby they have to leave that job, the

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.ne t According to the Labor department, USA added 287,000 jobs in June. Quite impressive is it not?

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, we commonly hear sentences like we have to be effective and efficient in business. Today I will be writing about ways to measure effectiveness and efficiency. Most of us know what efficiency and effectiveness mean but anyway I will still define them. A business is said to be effective when the established goals and objectives of the company are achieved. Thus, effectiveness is said to be achieved when an individual meets its organizational target. While efficiency deals with your ability to use the resources available to the maximum.  Effectiveness measures the achievement of objectives, thus we can measure effectiveness using a quantitative key performance indicator that are tailored to measure your objectives. For example if a business decides to provide excellent customer service, the amount of customer compliants can give you an ideal of how satisfied your customers are. Another example will

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.ne t John Lewis has planned to increase the price of its goods next year, as a result of the fall in the value of the Pound Sterling.

Image courtesy of pazham at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, so a brief research was carried for you. Today is friday, personally I believe friday evenings should be used for relaxation. So today I will be telling you what zoo you should visit. I have picked  zoos from few countries, here they are: Chester Zoo This is one of the best zoos in the world with over 20000 animals and 500 species. They open between 10am and 5pm averagely. As their closing time varies. Prices vary between £13 to £24. It is located in the UK. Check it out. Emirate Park Zoo This zoo is located in United Arab Emirate. It is a zoo in a park resort, this resort is equipped with a place called funspace, a restaurant as well as a hotel. They open by 9.30am and close by 8pm or 9pm it depends on the day. It has 1700 animals. Omu Resort Zoo This is located in Nigeria with over 40 animals. Prices paid to enter the zoo ranges from N1500 to N5000. It is one of the best in Nigeria. You should check i

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.ne t On the 12th of July (2016), Starbucks will increase the price of some of its products by 30cents.

Eid-ul-fitri is here, yay! A celebration that marks the end of ramadan. Ramadan is a period when we muslims fast. Fasting is really good for everyone, it purifies and strengthens you. This is one of the medium you can use to get closer to Allah. This pleases Him and He rewards you for it. You should try it during ramadan. Yes you.

Image courtesy of mapichai at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, I can remember I mentioned that I was going to carry out a research on Samsung to know how they became the market leader in the mobile phone industry. I have always said that you should understand the needs of your customers and supply them with what they want. However, with Samsung they make you want their products. Meaning they are innovative, if you all can remember when blackberry came out all other mobile phone companies struggled. It was quite challenging for them. Nokia was sold out to another company, well Samsung was able to find its two feet and then eventually became the market leader. So what made the company pop? Really, I do know Android belongs to Google which is the software they use on their phone which was one of the factors that enabled them to stay competitive. From this I can tell you that outsourcing a part of your business from a company that is an expert in that field you need can real

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.ne t Baidu is planning to provide anyone that is interested in getting information about China. It has a huge amount of data and will process the data to provide information about China. Information provided will range from employments to consumer spendings to imports and exports.

Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Yay, I have another article for you today. So I am going to explore the manufacturing industry. This is one of the best industries. What you should do to thrive in that industry is what I am going to be writing about today. Hope you gain a thing or two. First of all, lets talk prices. Prices that you affix to your products must be reflected in the value of the product. Your product must meet the needs of the customers in your target market. You should serve their needs appropraitely. You have to define your target market, then you have to understand your market and then you manufacture products that will meet their needs. I said in a previous post, product that focuses on food, water, shelter and maybe clothes are the best in the manufacturing industry. Having developed a product, you must diversify as well as have different brands for a particular product. For example Three crown milk and Peak milk belong to the

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, hope your weekend was good. Today, I will be writing about recognising revenue in business. Some individuals do recognise revenue when it has not been received. The prudency concept in accounting states that you should not overestimate your revenue. This will prevent you from spending the money you do not have. By that I mean an individual might spend this money because they are expecting that money and that money might end up not coming in. Most products, goods especially get their revenue once they are delivered to the customer in good condition and the customer pays promptly. You can easily recognise your revenue except in situations whereby customers are allowed to pay on a later date. Do not charge interest, it is a sin. Prices should be the same whether they are paying now or later. While a business that builds product like a car or a house takes time to build such products. As a result p

You should walk briskly for 20 minutes a day.

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.ne t Britain is going to be trading highly with China, India, USA and the Commonwealth nations as it sets to start separation actions from the EU

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Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.ne t Individuals that do want to driver for Uber and Lyft but do not have a car can now rent one from Hertz.