Trust Onyekwere

💥I'm super thrilled to announce that my new book Coding is not Enough has been converted into a course by the Educative team.
It's been fun working with the Author Success Team to make this happen.

Take a look at what we made (in the comment section).

Attend the online launch of Coding is not Enough and get a free book teaser.

Most software development books are about...software development — this one isn’t.

There are many books out there about writing good code and using various technologies and algorithms.

I’ve been hard-pressed to find a book that told software developers how to manage their career, market their skills, and grow a profitable developer brand with practical guide.

This is one reason I'm excited about Coding is not Enough.

We'll be launching CINE on Monday and I'll be thrilled to have you attend - http://bit.ly/cinelaunch

Join the online book launch and receive a free teaser copy of the book and a heavy discount.

The launch will happen on Monday 14th June by 8 PM. Register today at http://bit.ly/cinelaunch

For most software developers, coding is the fun part.

The hard parts are acquiring and dealing with clients, staying productive, achieving financial security, marketing, and distributing their skills.

The book “Coding is not Enough” is here to help.

On Monday 14th June, this book will be launched and made available to all software developers to read, apply, and experience real career growth.

Register now to attend the online launch and receive a free teaser copy of the book and a heavy discount: http://bit.ly/cinelaunch

CINE Book Online Launch + Free Book Teaser Copy

I'm excited to tell you that Coding is not Enough is ready for pre-order 🙂.

This is not a software development book about writing codes.

This is a book that can change everything in your career as a software developer.

The big question on every software developer's mind should be: How can I use my skills to make local/global impact, grow a brand, and gain financial freedom?

This book answers these questions and more from my experience at RAD5 Tech Hub, GDG Aba , Andela (ALC), Atlassian (ACE) , RAD5 Academy , Africa Code Week , Chooya and Packt

You’ll also receive 5 (four) gifts as bonuses. These include:

📖 A software development proposal and agreement template

📖 Ebook: How to prepare and deliver technical presentations (Public speaking for coders)

📖 Three (3) free audio programs – one focusing on how to land a tech gig in 30 days.

Take action now before pre-order and all bonuses expire on Monday, 14th June.

Own a copy at 50% off and access all bonuses for free at https://selar.co/cine

How do developers find jobs? (Part 2)

Recruiters often attend, host, and recruit people at events, so that's another place to find opportunities.

When you join a Meetup, try to participate and do something. It's a great way to meet the speakers, hosts, and other influential people.

If you join a meet up, try to make it a goal to present on a topic. It shows that you're knowledgeable and willing to help.

The best thing about making great connections is that if they can vouch for your work, you can skip the first part of the screening process, which is the hardest to get through.

Although applying for a job through a job board is less effective, you'll want to make sure you're constantly updating your profile, customizing it for the jobs that you're applying for.

Hiring managers I talk to mention that the most important thing is for your profile to tell a great story that helps you stand out from the rest.

📓Coding is not Enough



PS: Image below was taken at a Meetup organized by GDG Aba

How do developers find jobs? (Part 1)

When I switched to a programming career, I didn't know much about the web or the software world, but I had a good networking and hardware maintenance portfolio. So I joined a local tech meetup and became part of the organizing community.

After I'd been there in the community for a while and trying to groom my coding skills, someone at the group mentioned that their company was looking for a software developer intern, and that's how I got my first tech engagement.

My story is pretty typical. The most common way developers find work is through someone who told them about the job.

Clearly, it pays to have connections in the industry, but you want the right type of connections. Organic connections, which occur as a result of an ongoing relationship, are the best.

Don't just approach someone asking for a job or a reference. Great connections are more like relationships; they take time to develop.

Don't start by asking someone for something, but begin by having a genuine interest in what they do. After a while, you can begin asking questions, but focus more on the relationship and the connections will happen organically as people get to know your expertise.

Going solo in the tech industry and any other industry is a bad idea.

Join a tech community and when you get into any of these communities, network and build relationships. Maybe but not immediately, once you're job ready, something will click.

📓Coding is not Enough

Developer jobs are different from regular jobs (Cont'd)

A great GitHub profile can go a long way towards helping you prove your skills as a developer, and will help others find you if you're looking for work.

There's a check box in your GitHub profile that says available for hire so make sure you check that if you're looking for work.

There's a real popular section with dots that shows the number of contributions you've made over the last year. That's an important way to gauge your activity and maturity as a developer.

Anytime you push code to a project it will get stored there. Employers like to see a good level of activity to projects.

In GitHub you can create a number of repositories for each project are working on. And you can choose to pin your six most important repos.

These should highlight the work that you're proud of doing, and can also show popular projects.

Getting people to star your projects, means that people are using and enjoying what you're creating.

Each repository you create should have a strong README file, with detailed information about the project. You can also add a shorter description, tags and a link to a demo. So you can show your project in action.

Tags are an important way to showcase the technology you're using in the project. It can help you show up on searches when employers are looking for people with specific skills.

Finally GitHub has a hidden feature that allows you to add a robust README page to your profile.

The secret is to create a repository with the same name as your account. If your account is Good Times , you can create a repository called Good Times, and create a fancy README file with detailed information.

A great GitHub profile can go a long way towards helping you prove your skills as a developer, and will help others find you if you're looking for work.

📓 Coding is not Enough

Developer jobs are different from regular jobs.

One thing I heard over and over from hiring managers is that showing your work is really important.

One place to do that is through a GitHub profile.

GitHub is a social network for coding, that lets you store your projects and provides analytics on the work that you do.

If you're a developer you should definitely have a detailed GitHub profile.

It lets you add the typical photo and elevator pitch type description. But for employers it also provides data like the number of followers and stars you've given to open source projects.

You can also add links to your social media accounts, as well as your location, which is pretty important for people looking for developers in certain areas.

You can add one or more emails. Make sure that the email you have here is checked regularly, or you might miss out on a job opportunity.

There's a lot to consider and put in place in order to win the developer "job" game. Coding alone won't get you there.

📓Coding is not Enough

You could be the world's most talented software developer, but if no one knows you exist, it won't matter much.

Unless you learn how to market the skills you have, you will never reach your full potential.

📓Coding is not Enough.

For businesses to succeed and survive in the digital age, digital technology is needed.

That makes sense, but how easy is it to implement digital technology? In some cases, there may be challenges and impediments to progress in the way.

How can CEOs, CTOs, and CIOs manage these occurrences? Let me give you a case example from FedEx.

From the company's founding in the 1970s, technology was one of its key differentiating factors.

Founder Fred Smith, who is now in his mid-70s, was one of the most progressive leaders when it came to technology.

He famously said, "Information about the package "is more important than the package itself."

Being able to know where a package was in transit was a key differentiator as it gave a customer greater confidence in knowing where the package was at all times.

With digital technology, FedEx was able to beat the competition at the time.

Sadly, this technology that was responsible for its growth and success began to be the reason for its possible downfall.

How did FedEx bounce back? What can business leaders and CIOs learn?

The 3rd episode of The Digital Catalyst discusses and answers these questions.

Listen on Anchor: https://bit.ly/3nEDygo

Listen on Google podcast: https://bit.ly/3aYT0yD

Listen on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2QOrRrq

Can you build AI and robot systems using CSS? The answer is yes.

E shock you baa?😁

Well, that was what I was told when I started programming and looking for guidance. This was how the conversation with the so-called expert went:

Me: "Please I want to learn programming, I'm reading one book on Java language but I want to build something like robot but on phone" (I was talking about AI. Memories like these can be humbling 😂)

Him: "That's okay, but Java is not for it, go and learn HTML & CSS. Robots like AI, right?

Me: "Yes sir"

Him: "Yeah, if you want to build something like that go and do CSS or HTML well, without them you can't build it well. You can add C++ too if your good at CSS"

Me: "Okay sir, thank you so much" (yes, I thanked him😅)

That was how I started learning CSS with the aim of building AI systems. Obviously It didn't go well.

His information was false and misleading - You cannot build AI apps or systems using CSS.

I bought a Udemy course on HTML & CSS, for my mind I will become an AI developer after. 😭

The so-called experts keep leading tech enthusiasts and newbies to the wrong direction and that can be frustrating as I experienced.

With this in mind I and the team at RAD5 Academy have curated a guide for you if you want to start a career in tech especially if you want to become a web developer in 2021.

Don't get misled, carried away with the noise around and invest in a tech path that is just not what you wanted.

If want to become a web developer but don't know the right place to start, then this free guide is for you! - https://rad5academy.ck.page/free-web-guide

You'll understand better what it takes to become a full-fledged web developer.

In this guide, you will gain insights into the skills and resources you'll need to break into the field.

You'll learn about:
​
✅ What is web development?
✅ What does a web developer do?
✅ Difference between Front-End, Back-End, and Full-Stack web developers
✅ Programming languages, libraries, and frameworks
✅ Difference between a web designer and web developer
✅ What does it take to become a web developer?
✅ The best way forward for aspiring web developers
​
It free! Download your copy here: https://rad5academy.ck.page/free-web-guide

Do you have the digital fear?

N250,000 spent on an ecommerce site and yet no return on investment after 7 months and more.

N150,000 invested to build and setup a chatbot to automate customer service and 4 months later, your customer support problems are not gone.

These scenarios above are common amongst digital transformation projects.

Is a website the best solution for us?
Do we really need a mobile app?
Should we have a chatbot?
With this software bring more money to our business? Is this a waste of resources?

These questions are often behind the rejection and reluntance of many business owners with it comes to implementing digital technology.

This is what I call the digital fear.

The fear of investing huge amount of money into digital technology is common among many business owners.

The fear of taking a gamble with technology.

Is there a way out of the digital fear? Yes! Design Thinking.

With strategies gotten through design thinking, business owners no longer have to take a gamble with technology and hope it works.

They'd already know if implementing a particular digital technology will mean failure or success, profit or loss.

The image below shows my first in-depth class on design thinking.

In the next few weeks, I would be sharing actionable knowledge on how businesses (no matter the size) can truly increase revenue, productivity, and execute successful digital transformation projects through design thinking.

It’s official. I’m starting a podcast - The Digital Catalyst (TDC) 🎙️

I’m sooooo excited for what TDC will bring to the table especially in aiding the smooth transformation of SMEs and individual brands using digital technology.

This podcast will be focused on digital transformation, Innovation and everything in between.

How can SMEs understand and implement the right digital technology to become more profitable, productive and stay relevant while beating competition? The Digital Catalyst!

How can business owners and individual brands turn red oceans into blue oceans using digital technology? The Digital Catalyst!

Although the podcast would be predominantly for SMEs and business owners, it is welcomed to all ears! Y’all ready? 🙂

First Episode will be ready over the weekend. Don't miss an Episode 🖤.

Did you miss this session last night?

You can request for the replay here: https://rad5academy.ck.page/replay

Join RAD5 Academy Online Hub to enjoy similar content and access resources for a successful tech career and digital transformation.

Done!🌊.

Over the weekend, I alongside the GDG Aba team organized DevFest Aba 2020👨🏽‍💻.

Although I miss the usual physical event, we did our best to bring value to attendees online.

Here are photos from the event - https://photos.app.goo.gl/9YJrgXGFdNBWbMEE7

Although we began streaming live in Facebook late, we did record a large part of the event...

You can watch the recorded part of DevFest Aba 2020 here - https://youtu.be/CJGO9O92RMg

Thanks for your support and assistance to host this year's edition of DevFest Aba 2020 despite the difficulties around online events.





✌🏽👨🏽‍💻

We just launched Search with SMS.

CH😍😍YA WITH SMS TO 34461

You can now search, get contact, and connect with businesses that sell any item that you are looking for by simply sending your request to 34461 for MTN users only.

Once you submit a request of what you are looking for, Chooya replies you automatically with verified businesses based on your request.

Example:
Chooya Gas Cooker
Chooya Tailor in Aba
Chooya Sandals Dealer

Every search request must start with the keyword "Chooya" and be sent to "34461" using an "MTN Line" only.

This means you don't have to waste time anymore looking and asking around for verified businesses that sell the specific items that you are looking for.

Also, you can search and connect with the business to confirm product availability and price before going to the market

When you search, only registered, verified Chooya Businesses are found.




-------------------------------------------------

For businesses that want to be verified and found by buyers on Chooya, visit www.chooyagroup.com to launch your business.

Two Persons, One Name 😋.

At a later time, I'll share a story about the above title and the photo below.

In the meantime, I'd love to share with everyone here who owns or runs a business to sign up for an online Webinar by RAD5 Academy that will transform your business and ultimately increase your revenue.

Click the link below to learn more, sign up and boost your business with technology 👇🏾

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=198198338352966&id=107080310798103

Here are some highlights from the webinar on financial modeling for small businesses.

It was indeed a lovely weekend.🙂

On the 12th of September 2020, I will be hosting a free webinar targeting small businesses and startups.

Are you planning to start a business? Do you own or run a business? Do you want learn how to use excel and other tech tools to make better business decisions?

Then this free webinar is for you!

You will learn the best practices for building practical financial models and forecasts for your startup and growing business.

Don't miss this!

Save your spot for this class on financial modeling for small businesses using the link below:

http://bit.ly/techmeetbiz

Share with your friends and loved ones especially who own or run a business. Even those aiming to start businesses can benefit hugely!

See more details here: https://lnkd.in/euQaiDW

You're Invited! 😀. Do not miss this free webinar Good morning to you, Do you know that over 99% of businesses and startups don't have a financial model for their business.  Come to think of it, they don't even know what financial modeling for their business entails. Opening your shops or running a startup without a financial model is like traveli...

"When faced with issues or challenges in our personal lives, we all know that it helps to have an outside perspective.

We call a trusted friend to tell them what’s going on because they help us see things in a fresh light.

The same is true in business.

Often we need an outside opinion to look at our business challenge from a new angle.

That’s where innovation consulting comes in.

Innovation consulting can help you look at your business challenge from a new perspective."

Read more 👇🏾

Six Benefits of Innovation Consulting + Blog + Voltage Control When faced with issues or challenges in our personal lives, we all know that it helps to have an outside perspective. We call a trusted friend to tell them what’s going on because they help us see…

Browsing through old photos and the photo below popped up.

It is a photo from an outing in 2018 and it holds sweet memories attached to it.

The business side of tech and the bigger picture was blur.🥴

I couldn't comprehend fully how coding and business could mix.😏

The SLUSH GIA 2018 local accelerator program which lasted for 30 days made it all clear.

10 days into the SLUSH GIA Bootcamp, everything came together!😊

It was clear for the first time that coding can be a way to solve local and global pressing problems.

The combination of technology and entrepreneurship yields mind blowing results!

I travelled as a software developer but returned as a software entrepreneur!😁

The journey continues...

The photo below shows me pitching an idea to participants and trainers at the SLUSH GIA 2018 accelerator program.

Don't be a Boss, be a Leader.

If we want employees to feel committed to the organization; we need to show we respect and value them.

The "human touch" makes it all tick.

It is not your title that makes you a leader. It is your impact and influence. The corporate world is littered with “mere” managers but lacks leaders. Over the course of my career, I only had one manager who was a leader ( Joseph). He made such an impact and influenced my leadership style. It is a rare individual who excels in both managing and leading. Joseph was such an ...

The chatbot revolution has began!

Chatbots helps businesses save cost and automatize a bunch of routine tasks like customer support, marketing or bill payment.

The team Botgence is offering free consultation with Chatbot experts to discover what chatbots can do for your business organization right away.

Get started now! www.botgence.com.ng

Botgence Artificial Intelligence consultancy specializing in building bespoke conversational AI solutions.

With schools closing all around the world due to COVID-19, educators, parents and students are itching for solutions to limit the disruption of education.

What if you can move or create your traditional classroom online that can be accessed from anywhere in the world, at any time, and in some cases, even if connectivity is an issue? Heartwarming, is it?

We'll be announcing the launch of a solution that helps you do just that and even more!

Let us know if you'll like to be among the first to get started and enjoy the benefits of virtual classrooms in education.

Let us know here - https://bit.ly/schoolsuite-elearning

Beyond the Lines of Code ebook by Trust Onyekwere - Rakuten Kobo Read "Beyond the Lines of Code Part 1" by Trust Onyekwere available from Rakuten Kobo. This is not a core software development book. No, it's not. So, if you're reading this book to know more about software ...

For the past two weeks (21st -31st October, 2019), I have served as the Project Coordinator for the Africa Code Week (ACW) program supported by Google in partnership with RAD5 Tech Hub and TeenHack in Aba, Abia State.

With my team of amazing volunteers, we were able to reach over 500 secondary school students in 8 schools across 3 LGAs in Abia State.

We were also able to teach these enthusiastic kids and teens some digital skills, assist them to take their early start in software development, and guide them to build online interactive games using the Scratch software.

Frankly, planning and organizing ACW Aba 2019 has strengthened my conviction and motivation to continue creating impactful and supportive technology literacy movement in the community.

We need more of these projects across our secondary schools.

P.S. Africa Code Week, an initiative by SAP is a hands-on technology literacy program for kids and teenagers to learn about programming and other new innovations around computing and coding.

I just published Scrum and Kanban — Two Kings in the Agile Castle



https://link.medium.com/Tb1J4vEwV2

Scrum and Kanban — Two Kings in the Agile Castle A place where words matter