Next week I’m headed to Africa for five days. I’m addressing the Branding Journalists of Nigeria. The event is honoring two distinguished leaders, Governor Ohakim as the Most Visionary and Brand-Friendly Governor of Imo State and Professor Dora Akunyili as Most Noted Brand Ambassador and a pioneer in marketing and country improvement.

Turns out our American bodies are at risk to a bunch of nasty stuff. So I visited the health department today to be ready and on the offense.

If you are traveling abroad, you can do most of the research online. If it looks like a high risk area, go to your local health department as soon as you lock down your gig.

Also, secure a budget for some bucks and time. Unfortunately, I did not. So I’m out of pocket around $650.00, I got 4 shots, it took three hours and cost just under $300, plus I need to fill a prescription for some Malaria pill that I need to take when I get there. Times two, because I have a my videographer trailing with me. I chalk it up to the cost of business. I value my life and have no time to be sick.

Turns out I needed a Hep A, Tetanus, Yellow fever and Typhoid shot. In the ideal world, you need to get these 4 weeks before you travel. YIKES, more on the edge living for me. Anyhow, the staff at the health department was great. The educated me on the risks and simple ways to protect your self while there.

Warning: The shots hurt to get and both my arms feel like a truck ran over them several times. I suppose this is better than vomiting and dying from a Mosquitoes bite.

Some other tips:
Buy extra health insurance
As an added precaution,  I also bought a health insurance package from American Express. It’s $7.50 for a month, you can cancel after your trip, but it will give you some extra comfort, should something happen to you while you are out of the country. $50,000 and emergency transportation etc.

Use a Visa expediter
I use A1 Passport & Visa Express. Today, I finalized my passport renewals and got Visa almost complete. When you are going to abroad, in most cases your passport needs to have at least 12 months on the back end before it expires or you can’t fly.  All of these little things take time. Plan for it. But being an entrepreneur sure is fun and I can’t wait for my African adventure!!

Be safe when you get there
Pack light colored clothing items, not all black. Black attracts mosquitoes and mosquitoes can carry deadly diseases. Don’t wear any scented anything and hit mosquitoes with DET.

Want more on global travel and marketing read my past blogs too.

Who would of thought that in the month of March 2011, I would be in Jeddah, Saudi, then NYC and then two weeks later in Lagos, Nigeria talking about branding. The world is getting smaller by the minute.

Yep, I’m going to Africa.

I’ve been invited by Brand Journalist’s Association of Nigeria. This is a group of writers who cover branding and marketing communications matters. They will be honoring the governor of Imo State as “the Most Branding Compliant Governor”. This is the based on his re-branding of his State to make him more investor-friendly and  Professor Dora Akunyili, a highly respected government and business leader as the “Most Distinguished Brand Ambassador”.

It’s very exciting and a bit freaky too.
Not the adventure part, I love that.  Not the travel, I’ve mastered that, but the prep for my program. I usually start working on my content at least 30 days out. This  event is in one week and I’m addressing a country that I’m not very familiar with.  And my brain has been deep in writing a book with a big deadline staring at me daily. YIKES!

So what do you do next?
1) You first thank Google, my massive pipeline for new business. The client is the government of Imo State. They found me because of my high ranking. Read more on how I earned the #1 spot.

2) Then you become a thirsty sponge and you soak up as much as you can as quick as you can. You ask questions, Google a bunch and use social media to further your insight.

3) And finally, you take a deep breathe and remind yourself how lucky you are to be an entrepreneur in America.  And that the principles of branding are in fact universal and being a quick study is a great skill to process.

I’m traveling with a Andrew a film specialist from Litewavemedia. They are the company that shot my videos. I negotiated my contract so I could bring a professional colleague, document my journey and not travel alone.

So next week I will be video blogging to you from Lagos!

For more on traveling, view:
Making history in Saudi and 5 lessons from the experience.
Less stress. More life. Tighter travel brand.

This week, I’ve been blogging from the Middle East. I was invited by the Saudi Arabian Airline to address their corporate conference on Branding. It’s been an incredible experience. Today, I learned that I actually made history. I was the first women to ever address the group as a keynote speaker.

If you are not familiar with Saudi traditions, women do not had the same rights as men in their culture. They cannot drive, have limited leadership and governing roles, have strict dress codes and do not mix with men in dinning and many public places. I knew accepting this invitation would be an experience. I was aware of their traditions and values, but until I arrived had not fully realized that I was making history.

Doing business globally introduces many challenges to a day’s work, from the work product you deliver to how you communicate, to respecting their culture and protocols. Read the story in New York Times on my travels.

Here are 5 important lessons I learned from my trip.
1) The world is very small.
Even if you are a small business you can earn rewarding and exciting global assignments. And a single project can develop into a long term cross the pond relationship too.

2) High Google search results are equal to an elite global sales team.
The client found me because of my high Google ranking.

3) A strong and professional website presence can project as much credibility and capability as a firm ten times your size. If you want big projects, you need to practice smart marketing and can’t look like a small potato.

4) Assume presenting your offering to a foreign culture will come with significant challenges. From technology glitches to communications differences, don’t fall short of delivering the best. You may think it will all be like it is back home. It won’t be. Do your homework, plan well and be prepared for travel bumps.

5)  Global adventures can teach you so much and open unexpected doors too.
This trip connected me and my firm not only to this client, their industry, and unique culture, but to other entrepreneurs involved in the project that can be a source of business, knowledge and world friendships.

I’m headed back to New York City tonight.  A thirteen hour flight, and then I’m in Manhattan for a week. While in the big Apple, I’ll be working on client projects, writing my new book, conducting some business meetings and having some fun.

More soon!

For more lessons, check out: I’m going to Saudi, join me!

The importance of branding and the reason it must be done was the focus for this week’s blogs. To view last weeks wrap up, click here.

1 – Is morning marketing more meaningful? Or do night owls rule? Don’t fight your waves of brilliance, do what works for you.
2 – Less stress. More life. Tighter brand. How the small things in life can minimize your travel nightmares.
3 – Nightline, girl power and baba ghanooge. Adventures and inspiration from 8,000 miles away.
4 – Lights, camera, Saudi action countdown. The creation of a lasting customer experience and why brands are critical for success.
5 – Can a strong brand make a visit to the dentist less painful? Why a Nazi commando or a pushy used car salesman never win the fight.

For more branding ideas, view:
The #1 strategy that is giving me more money, influence and balance.
How I earned the #1 spot on Google.
Does your business card scream “I’m broke, clueless or stuck in 1980″?

Many small businesses, including mine, have opted for Internet phone service. It’s cost effective and works fine for local calls and if you enjoy chatting online to solve your issue.

Today, I had a conference with a UK company and assumed I just dial em up. Well after that did not work and after trying 4 times, my wonderful assistant reached out to customer service, which went round and round with an associate who must have skipped some of the training classes. Come to find out you must set this international feature up in advance. It took over 50 minutes to learn this, another 20 to set this up but then we needed to answer security questions that our phone guy set up and we didn’t know. Very frustrating !!

As I become more tardy to the call, I resorted to True Blue AT&T (my iphone service) hoping they have an operator I can actually speak with. Normally this would be correct, but today the 20 inches of snow everywhere had systems down. This took another 30 minutes. But alas, I can now call Paul McCartney or Bono anytime without any distress and pay only .28 cents a minute. I’m sure the Internet provider is cheaper, but I find value in live operators. Thank you AT&T.

So if you’ve got an international call on your schedule, plan ahead.

Don’t forget to check out: I’m going to Saudi, join me!