Islam and Business Finance

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net You could gain a competitive edge in business by always reacting to changes quickly, by being innovative. For your business to be able to react to changes quickly, you have to be able to anticipate the change and secondly you have to be very fast at responding to changes. Forecast of how changes might occur in the market in which your business operates in could be gotten by studying past information, however market forecasts are less effective. Information from customers and suppliers are most effective. The way your business responds to changes (such as changes in taste of your customers, changes in the financial capability of your customers and others) has a great impact on your market share. If it takes your company 4 weeks to respond to a change in the market and it takes the next company 3 months or more you could gain a competitive edge cause customers might come to you first and their loyalty could ...

Networking is important to the development of any business. It is great for expanding your knowledge as well as creating business opportunities for your business via your products. Today I am going to be sharing tips on developing such skill. The first step is to find your individuals that might be interested in your products. You will have to make a list of everyone you can think of. This list will include your family, your friends, your acquaintances. The friends of your family members or your friends.  You will always need to expand your list. You can attend events to meet new people. After the list has been composed, then you will have to invite them so that they can understand your products. While trying to get people to understand your products you must remember that not everyone will be interested in your products. Always be yourself when promoting your products. You should be enthusiastic when promoting your products. You could tell individuals about your produ...

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Products are goods or services provided by a business in exchange for money. A business can either apply a low cost strategy or a differentiation strategy. However, some other companies apply both strategy. I am going to write about the differentiation strategy today. The question is how do you differentiate your products successfully. Differentiating a product is all about making it unique, as such some attributes of your products might not be obtained anywhere else. A product can be differentiated by providing complementary services for example a business that sells make up products (halal make-up products) can offer to give their customers free facials once or twice. A business that sells technological products can also offer free repair services as a form of differentiation. The performance and features can also be used to differentiate the products, the location of your business can also be a form of differentiation...

For a challenge to not become so difficult to tackle you must deal with it as it arises. When faced with an unexpected bill, if you find it overwhelming then go and read my article on emotional health. The first step is to write out a realistic plan on how you are going to raise the money. Probably look for another source of income. Make sure you stick to the plan. A financial challenge could be an inability to pay bills, this could be prevented by living below your means. Make sure you create a monthly budget so you know how you will spend your money so that you do not end up spending the money for your bills on something else. For some sticking to a budget comes naturally and for some they find it hard to stick to a budget. For those that find it hard to stick to a budget, my advise to you will be to have a daily budget and once you are able to stick to the budget for seven days reward yourself, change the target to a month and then reward yourself, researchers say that once you...

I mage courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.net In business you must always identify the main success factors in the industry you operate in, of-course, by identifying them and taking them into consideration it will help your business succeed insha Allah (if Allah wills). Various industries have different success factors, however, in order for any business to survive, owners must determine what customers want and determine what the business needs to do to stay competitive. So how do you determine what your customers want?  You first have to know who your customers are. For example are they students or working class individuals. You will have to make an enquiry about their needs and then you make enquiries about how they make a choice between similar products. This could be achieved via a focus group or questionnaires. Once the preferences of your potential customers have been identified, then the factors that could help your business stay profitable could be...

 courtesy of AKARAKINGDOMS at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Your business or career shouldn't be your life, you can balance it all. Have time for your family, friends and business. Make sure you always have time for your family and then your friends before your business. But remember, Allah comes first all the time. A successful business could bring you fulfillment no doubt but obviously you will want to share the success with your loved ones wouldn't you. While you must treat everyone with respect whether younger or older you must pick your friends wisely, you should associate yourself with people that promotes positivity. Some women fight for equal rights in their homes, a woman was telling her husband you do not know how to lay the bed again. While a man can willingly help in the house, out of love, its not your right to demand it. You should not disobey your husband as long as its what Allah loves. You should only advise him, however whatever decision he makes you s...

Image courtesy of jscreationzs at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello! It is common knowledge that some industries are declining, if your business happens to be in a declining industry, this are the strategies you could apply * You can go after a market segment (niche) in the industry. A niche that you know will offer stability  and you know other firms will not invade.  *To be a leader in the industry, this can be achieved by acquiring competitors and motivating them to exit the industry. Once a leading role is achieved , greater profit could be enjoyed. * When it really seems like the industry is not going to take another turn, then the best advise will be to divest before the industry reaches a dead end.  Your business should be for the sake of Allah. Everything happens according to the will of Allah. Whatever Allah wills to prevent no one can make it happen and whatever He does not prevent no one cannot make it happen.

Today, I decided to write up something for United Kingdom(international) students. Some students are usually broke, so how can they avoid that. I can remember when I arrived as a student, I had priced a cab and he said £60, I had a somewhat intention of taking the cab when someone said to me always convert your money to the Nigerian currency first before spending so it could help you with your judgement so I applied that logic all through as a student, you get to save money that way cause you will be buying things similar to prices in your country. Do not buy branded products, tesco, sainsbury, asda and the likes make products of good quality at cheaper prices buy theirs. Cook your food, eat out once in a while, you can try the cafeteria's food in your university just to have the experience maybe their toast, eggs (make sure the food is halal) but the food they have available is not really what you are used to and its a waste of money. That way you don't end up run...

Image courtesy of zirconicusso at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Today I am going to describe how you should be spending as a family. This artlcle for a married couple or married couple with kids. Before couples decide to have children they should have the financial capacity to take care of their children. So you are not only responsible for your mouth only but you are responsible for the mouth of others. Men have be given the role of the leader of the house by God, they are normally responsible for the major part of the household bills, however, the women should still help as such how you decide to split the bills will be agreed upon by both parties. Some couples do have quarrels over money, a woman should obey her husband as long as its not against God's Law. However, a woman should give her advise with reasons to her husband, he should consider her advise and then make the decision for both of them. All major financial decisions must be made together cause any wrong d...

Budgets are like smoothies (smiles) I can remember I said I was going to let you know what your monthly budget should look like in a previous post, so yup! you are getting it today. Some individuals make a reasonable amount of money on a monthly basis but yet still end being broke before their next pay date and they all put the blame on the bills. I have always said cut your clothes according to your size, you can always manage your money very well and still have fun, yes have fun. I know individuals do not earn the same amount of money, as a result of that I am going to be working with percentages today. I alsoknow that individuals do have different responsibilities so I am going to classify the budgets into two. One for singles and one for a family. Today I am going to focus on the one for singles. You are single, you are only responsible for feeding your mouth normally it could be different , so this is how you should be spending your income. Pay zakat if its due, then save...

Motivation is what inspire individuals (employees) to achieve a goal or an objective without force. Every business requires employees, they are important because they will be carrying the day to day activities of a business. Direction, intensity and persistence are the three components of behaviour that has an impact on performance. Direction of behaviour relates to what an individual wishes to do, intensity relates to how much effort an individual  put into achieving a goal and persistence relates to how determined an individual is in achieving a goal in spite of challenges encountered. Insha Allah (if Allah wills) . Motivated employees could contribute to the success of a business . I am going to write about two motivational techniques  The first one I am going to write about is the herzberg two factor theory. It was proposed by Late Fredrick Herzberg. He placed a lot of emphasis on the importance of the job content and job enrichments. He said people are motiv...

Having 2 to 4 children is not only good for you financially, it is also good for the general well being of the family. Any family planning expert would advise you to leave at least 2 years gap between your children. This will not only let you give them the adequate attention they require at that tender age, researchers say anything less than 2 years will increase the risk of having a baby prematurely and underweight. However, it is also good for you financially cause you will have at 2 additional years to save money for university for your second child. Some people might read this and say why don't I leave 10 years between them instead, okay I just exaggerated no one might think that way but I will suggests a maximum of 4 years ,you do not want to be paying school fees when you are 80. Having 2 or more children in the university at the same time could be expensive so you get to reduce the financial requirement placed on you by leaving adequate gaps between your children.  ...

It has been observed that individuals/corporations in the oil industry make a lot of money. But some people get discouraged from entering the industry because of the capital required to start the business because they believe the oil business is basically about drilling or refining oil. They believe they need machinery, oil rigs or they need to build fuel stations. While this is true, the good news I have for you is it is only an aspect of the industry. Have you heard of oil broking before? People in that line of business make a lot of money from it. Oil brokers serve as an intermediary between buyers and sellers of oil, basically you are going to be marketing oil. You do not need to have any previous background in oil and gas to become a successful broker. Most firms that employ oil brokers do not take the type of degree you have into consideration. l am not here today to write about you getting an oil broking job, I am to here to write about you becoming an oil broker as an indi...

Vacation trips could cost you money, but researchers say that it is good for the overall well being of an individual. So once in a year taking a trip is actually not bad. I have always said cut your clothes according to your size, you can remain within your country but travel to other states/counties or you can travel to other countries it all depends on your pocket. Before going on any trip, ask yourself first, can you afford the trip? If no, please do not travel cause it will do you harm than good. However, I have great tips on saving the overall costs on vacations without compromising your experience. Here they are. 1. Make a monthly contribution towards your vacation. 2. Buy your airline ticket like 6 months before your travel date, that way they are cheaper. It is still the same airline, the same journey but at a cheaper price. 3. Reduce your baggage, leave uneccessary items at home. It's a vacation not a relocation. That way you do not get charged by airli...

To invest in the real estate market in some developing nations you will need at least $1000 . If you cannot afford such an amount of money at the moment or you cannot tie up such an amount of money at the moment, there are so many  other markets (like the gold market) you can make money from.  I said to you in my past articles that Land will always appreciate because it is limited in supply. In Nigeria, it is safe to say that some areas increases by 300%  every  2 years. It depends on the area some lands go for $1000  approximately and some others go for as high as $800,000, wait for it to appreciate and sell the land. You are not in it to build. From the sale you have made, look for another cheap area to buy the land and sell again. Buying Lands in some developing nations might be a little bit risky cause I have heard of situations whereby the land was purchased from the wrong hands. Minimize the risk by buying the land that is on the list of well ...

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Anyone can start a business, however, it has to be something you pray to Allah that it will be good for you in this life and the life after. Today, I am going to be giving you tips on starting a new business. However, this article will still impact good knowledge on starting up a business insha Allah (if Allah wills) The first step you need to take when you want to start a business is to pray to Allah about it,  and it has to be realistic. The next step will be to develop the skills required like if you want to provide halal make-up services then get the required skills, if you want to provide IT services get the education needed (it could be a professional course). I know that it is quite expensive to attend universities in developed nations, however, professional courses are not so expensive. It could be a short course, that will be influenced by the level you are willing to take your business too. Be ...

We used to operate in a gold standard system in the past, it is common knowledge that we presently operate in a dollar based system.  A system where each country measures the value of its currency against the dollar for the dollar based system and the gold for the gold standard system. The gold used to be a yardstick for measuring the value of a currency, although it is no longer used to measure the value of currencies these days, it has maintained it's prestigious value. Gold a very valuable metal, its prices depreciates at times and appreciates other times, but looking at its trend over 100 years, the prices have always appreciated over 10 years or above. From 2006 to 2015, the gold price per ounce appreciated by 200%, while from 2002 to 2015 it appreciated by 300%. So Long term investors go ahead and purchase gold. You must always pay zakat on the value of your gold when it reaches the nisab which is 87.48 grammes. However, you can give charity (sadaqa) from it. Alla...

Individuals feel and react differently in relation to various situations. A situation that might bring stress to a particular person might not even bother another person. Emotionally healthy people are not overwhelmed by their emotions, they have self respect,  they are able to consider the interests of others, they are able to deal with challenges easily and all other characteristics. A good emotional health is required for carrying out day to day tasks in business and not just business but generally. The way you won't drink dirty water is the same way the emotional health should be taken care of. There are few actions that can be carried out daily to enhance your emotional health and they are as such; drinking 6 cups of water (liquid cause it could be a cup of juice or hot chocolate; please one cup of juice and one cup of hot chocolate) . Good nutrition is another factor that can enhance your emotional health. Cooking your food rather than eating out. I am not saying don't e...

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Are you having difficulties managing your debt ? Are you feeling overwhelmed by debt? Do you want to prevent debt problems? If you answered yes to any of the questions then you are reading the right article. If you are feeling overwhelmed by debt, read my earl ier  post " Emotional Health: A trendy thing in business " . It will help you. The Quran is a cure for diseases and illnesses for Muslims. " We send down the Quran as a healing and mercy for the believers, but it only increases the wrongdoers in loss." Q uran 17.82 For you to be able to deal with daily tasks you need to have a good relationship with Allah (SWT). No debt difficulty is unresolvable, it might not be resolved immediately but you can be rest assured it can be dealt with. In the UK, if your debt is up to £5000 or above they have a government scheme that can help you write off up to 80% of your debt. While in USA, they also have ...

Some people want to invest but do not know how to go about it. Investing your money to achieve financial growth is a good thing for everyone. You can either invest your money in the capital market (halal), real estate market (halal), commodities like gold (halal), oil (halal) etc.  I spoke about the risk appetite for businesses in my last post 'managing risks'. Risk appetites should not only be used in making business decisions but also be used in determining how individuals should invest their money. So you need to ask yourself some questions like what will be the impact of losing this amount of money that you are about to invest on your life and that of the people in your life. Allah knows best. Will it affect you drastically, if yes then do make low risks investments. In other words, know the amount of money you can afford to lose. The amount you want to make from the investment  (investment goals) should also determine how you should invest your money. The time yo...

All business activities carry an element of risk inherented in them; this business activities include financial activities, operating activities, marketing activities and activities that involves dealing with employees. It is important you determine risk at an early stage of your business. The risk appetite of your business should determine the risk management approaches that will be used. Risk appetite is the risk a business is willing to take to achieve its goals. The business must have the capacity to deal with the consequences  of the taking the risks and it must be acknowledged by all major contributors. The risk appetite must reflects your business plans and strategies. I mentioned business activities earlier now I am going to give you some examples of risks for  each activity. Financial activities include  financial forecast that are not accurate, cost estimates that are not accurate, adverse changes in tax rates etc. Marketing activities include decrease in de...

It is quite easy to blame the government for the reason Nigeria is still developing. As much as I believe that the government plays a vital role in Nigeria. I also believe each individual play a role in Nigeria, you can either be part of the problem or be part of the solution. Little drops of water makes a mighty ocean we say, as such each little contribution made by each individual will be that drop or drops of water that will end up making that ocean.  Some individuals are into yahoo yahoo (that's  not good), you can do something that will be productive for yourself and for the nation. One good action by an individual can contribute positively to the impression about safety in Nigeria. As a potential investor why would I start a business in country If I don't  believe that most people in the country are full of integrity and credibility. As such play your own part by being a person of high integrity. A country full with people of high intergrity will attract invest...

There are so many ways capital can be raised for setting up your own business. It can be raised by yourself, from your immediate family and close friends. Capital can be raised by yourself by working first for another company and not losing focus of your main goal. Work first, go ahead with any job that is halal and raise that capital. Another way capital can be raised is from your immediate family members. Immediate family members will most likely loan or even dash you the money cause they care about you. Loans from family members should be at 0% anything other that do not accept it.  Capital can also be raised from close friends, ask them to borrow you the money, tell them what the money will be used for and give a particular date that the money will be returned saying Insha Allah (If Allah will's). Loans from close friends should be at 0% too, anything other than that do not accept it. Do not deal with interest, it is bad for you. Please adhere to the date given, i...

  In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Gracious. The basis of any good thing is for you to have a good foundation in Allah. He guides, He sees it all .  He sees the end before you do. A prayer asking Him for guidance and following His advise is the most important in any business.  A lot of people are so concerned about what people will say when they are about to start a business that will add value to their lives. As long as you are comfortable about it do not let the thoughts of others (not even mine) deter you from pursuing your business goals cause at the end of the day one man's food is another man's poison. Follow the Godly advise and guidance. If the business is bad for you, others and the community please do not embark on it. A business that will earn earthly and heavenly rewards is what you should pursue.  Keep checking my blog regularly. Cheers! Allah is the greatest, He has no son. He has no partner. Never associate partners wi...