Zeze Oriaikhi-Sao: Following my life long dream makes the best use of my time
According to Zeze Oriaikhi-Sao the qualities necessary for a successful beauty entrepreneur are determination, passion, instinct, financial savvy and strong communication skills. Just having a good idea isn’t enough. Zeze is the founder of Malée, a range of luxury fragrance and body care products that draws inspiration from the traditional beauty secrets found across Africa. African beauty and healing secrets don’t get their due and with Malée, Zeze updates them with modern science and technology. The name Malée itself comes from her great grandmother and is a term for a strong-willed woman in Bini language. What pushed you to start Malée? In 2009, I moved countries from UK to South Africa. It was the height of the recession and finding a job wasn’t easy. After halted interview processes, I decided that following a life long dream would be a good way to make the best use of my time while having a larger social and economic impact along the way. In a few words, circumstances of the recession forced me to believe that I had something to offer to not only to consumers but to the African economy. Your brand seems to draw heavily from African traditions, is there any particular reason why you’re inspired by tradition? I believe there are hidden gems in tradition. Unlocking those with the scientific knowledge we have now and giving a voice to cultures and traditions that otherwise don’t have one in the global market place is a passion. Africa is full of beauty and I deeply motivated to share that. Malée is present in both South Africa and the UK, what challenges have you faced expanding your brand to other countries? Each market brings with it a lot of learning. The most important thing I have learnt is that regardless of the country, establishing a brand takes patience, consistency in the quality of your product and service, belief in your brand/business and building a great team to help turn the vision into reality. We have launched in the UK with 6 of our best selling products. On a stand alone basis they do what we say they should. They work! Do you have any plans to continue expanding within Africa? Yes, the rest of Africa is definitely on the cards for Malée. I am excited about the next 5 years. How do you unwind after a long day? Taking time out for me some ‘me time’. My favourite routine is my at home spa, light some candles, have music playing through my bluetooth headphones then I scrub before settling into the bath, usually while reading something. What’s one thing in your fridge you always use as a homemade skin treatment? Lemons; they are just so versatile and harness a lot of natural benefit for the skin. My favourite remedies are my DIY facemask which can be made by mixing baking soda, honey and lemon juice. You can also use lemon to make a detox toner with some green tea and water. How do you source ingredients for your products? Ingredient sourcing process begins with understanding what makes up on traditional beauty remedies. I dissect these to understand what ingredients actually have long term skin care or aromatherapy benefits. We take these away and plug them into our formulations and then look for the best local suppliers who have food grade ingredients. If it is good enough to eat, it is good enough for your skin. If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here.
The five people I met at She Hive Nairobi
Friday, day two of the She Hive Nairobi boot camp was so much fun. The ladies were so much fun to be with and the sessions were just as great. Gleaming tips, asking questions, having discussions and doing a few exercises went well. Learning has never been so much fun! I had a chance to interact with a few of the many ladies in attendance. Here, let me tell you about the five people I met at the event. Yasmin Yasmin was the facilitator of the day. She covered topics like Pitch Deck practices, prepping for investor meetings, identifying and developing customer profiles, presentation skills and strategic and analytical marketing. She is interesting and graceful. Yasmin thinks that we are a fun group so she enjoyed facilitating the sessions. Empowering African women to grow in their business ideas and implementation causing a higher standard of life, makes it all worth it! Jimia Yassin I like her name, a lot. She figures it is derived from Jamii, Swahili for community/society. Jimia has enjoyed the sessions so far. Some of the lessons she took home with her as an upcoming tech-preneur was that not everybody is her customer. This she realized from an exercise done yesterday, Thursday. She discovered that she had to know who her target market is and where she would get that market from. She also learned a great deal on the different tools to use in marketing her business as well as the various tips on how she can develop her business. Sylvia Moraa Sylvia and I sat beside each other. Boss Lady of her tech company, the empowered beauty was a great sport (even after I spilled something on her). Sylvia came to the realization that not all social media platforms work for all the businesses so she has to find out which work for her company and implement it. Other eye opening tips were on business planning and having a system to follow up on her company’s clients. I hope she will not be afraid of sitting next to me tomorrow if she has to. Paula Rogo Paula Rogo is the founder of Dhako Media, a media company focusing on the millennial woman. There was no boring moment with this chatty lady. The hours may have been long for her, but she enjoyed every bit of the sessions. What hit home for her concerned branding, group participation and client feedback. Loni Stephens Loni is a lady with numerous business ideas which I won’t preempt today. She found the sessions very useful. “Today was awesome! There is a lot to process, but it is definitely worth the time.” She feels that the things we learnt at the seminar may have taken longer to learn if we did it on our own but now that journey has been shortened thanks to She Hive Nairobi. There were many other great, wonderful and fierce ladies attending the She Hive Nairobi event and all are fun. We learnt so much together. It was interesting to watch light bulbs switch on as each of us come up with ways of applying this knowledge into our various ventures.
Role models for the woman who doesn’t want kids
It’s time for a brutally honest conversation. Some women don’t want kids. Being a parent is just one of the many roles that women can play. I particularly feel angry when women are pushed into or forced to be parents when they have no intention, inclination or desire to be mothers. Parenting, including having kids, should be a matter of choice. A child does not want or need a reluctant or frustrated parent. As women, we are human beings first with desires, ambitions, talents, skills and purpose. For those of us who choose nurturing as their primary goal be the best you can be, it’s a choice! Personally I preferred to have my children in my 20s as they are important in my life path. However, we should all respect that women have a different paths through which to contribute to society. Sometimes this does not include having kids. If you’ve felt alone by not feeling any maternal desires, this list of prominent childless women will remind you that you are not. Rosa Parks, Civil-Rights Activist Rosa Parks is famous for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Jim Crow era US. Her defiance lead her to became a symbol for the Civil Rights and she later received national recognition for her work as an activist. Oprah Winfrey, Media proprietor and philanthropist Oprah is undoubtedly the Queen of media. She doesn’t need an introduction, we know that she is the richest African American of our time and possibly the greatest black philanthropist in history. Roselyn Naliaka Nambuye, Kenyan High Court Judge The Court of Appeal judge with over 30 years experience in law, Roselyn was the chair of the Kenya Women Judges Association. She created scholarship for destitute children and is also known participate in communal activities like funerals and harambees. Billie Holiday, Singer and songwriter The iconic singer of the blues, Billie Holiday never had children. She pioneered new forms of singing and is known for her voice which captured her audience’s attention completely. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, 2005-now The number 1 most powerful woman in world this year, according to Forbes, Angela Merkel is the first woman leader of the Christian Democratic Union party and the first woman Chancellor of Germany. Condoleezza Rice, US Secretary of State 2005-2009 Condoleezza Rice was the first woman to serve as National Security Advisor and the first African-American woman to be Secretary of State. Condoleezza is also a professor of political sciene affiliated with Stanford University. For those who just don’t want to have children now, remember that child bearing can be deferred until even your forties. This can allow you to pursue any other ambitions you may have during the “prime” of you life (that is between the ages of 25 to 35) .
When is the right time to tie the knot?
This is question that runs through just about every girl’s mind once she counted as a woman. In the 70’s, women were often married off by the time they were 18-years-old, even earlier when cultural norms were considered. If you were 25 and still unmarried, you were seen as an old spinster. Emphasis on the word “old”. But after the 70’s, the average age at which women got married only continued to rise instead of falling despite terms like, “old spinster”. This happened across the world as the dynamics around what and who a woman was as well as what her duties and limitations are began to shift. The historical angle There was a point in time when the status a woman got was solely attached to her father’s name and her husband’s after that. For this reason, I think women, even those born into families with strong reputable names, made sure that they married into status. This had to be done as soon as possible, of course before all the good men with the good names got swept up. But once women were able to get their own jobs, make their own money and demand more respect than they were only able to in previous times and environments, there was a sudden shift. Women had more liberties then and the need to achieve more for themselves outside the aspects of family grew. What all this has done in subsequent years is, it’s made more and more women think about themselves, their own name, reputations, careers, and futures. But we still yearn for companionship. We still want that place in a family as wife and mother. A right time to tie the knot? But is there a right time to tie that knot? Everyone has an opinion about when the right time is and their own reasons for backing it. Your grandmother might say the moment you turn 20 you are ready. Your auntie, the nosy one who’s in everyone’s face, might say when you’re 24. Your mother might say when you’re done with school. But when are you done with school? You get your first degree, and then perhaps your second. Then your masters and then suddenly getting a PhD seems like the next best option. There will be those people who will say that you just must marry before your eggs “grow old” and preferably before you turn 30, the apparent age when everything in your body starts to shut down, so that you can have kids and be young with your children. “You don’t want to have to run after a 5-year-old when you’re an old and tired,” they will say. But now technology has given us a way to preserve our eggs, get sperm donors, use surrogates and along with the increased awareness and great regard for fitness and nutrition, this reason to tie the knot earlier rather than later has started to weigh less than it did before. More women are adjusting their timelines for just about everything. What does the public say? I went out to see what the Ugandan public thought was the right time to tie the knot. One lady I spoke to felt that any time is the right time when you’ve met the right person and are physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially ready to take that step while another without hesitation replied 28. One unmarried guy seemed to agree with this adding that you need to be at a place where you are willing and able to provide for a family. When the married people, both women and men, were asked for their opinion however, they had this to say, “The time is right just when it is. There is no formula when it comes to emotions.” “You’ll never have enough money. If you love her and she loves you back and you both see each other in each other’s lives long term, get married” “You’ll never be perfect and rounded in all the ways you want to be. If you’re both on the same wavelength and love each other, just do it.” “After you have found yourself and your centre because if it is because if your reason for marrying is loneliness then you’re making a big mistake. Loneliness is a spiritual, emotional condition.” After considering the replies of happily married people, we can with some confidence, say this much. Before you join yourself in holy matrimony with someone else, make sure you are happy, fulfilled, whole, healthy as an individual and ready to give 100%. There is no certain universal time when a person is at this place in their lives. Despite all this, marriage is an institution that requires two whole persons not two half empty vessels. When is the right time to tie the knot? You decide.
She Hive Nairobi: What participants are saying
The first day of She Hive Nairobi featured attendees from diverse fields. The room oozed with entrepreneurship, passion and beauty with brains, left, right and centre. The attendees are frontiers in print and digital marketing, media, cosmetics, fashion, freelance journalism, and writing. This coterie of African trendsetters have titles going from start-up magnates to Motherland Moguls, leaders to marketers, directors and CEOs to media strategists and professional consultants. One thing for sure is that these ladies are high-fliers. By attending the She Hive Nairobi they have already hoisted their sails for the entrepreneurship voyage. The beauty, charm, courage and confidence are something to be awed at. This is the event this side of Sahara that you never want to miss. Here is what some young women are saying about SheHive Sylvia Moraa, CEO and founder Tech Hub Creations What I do: I am graphic designer, branding and a print consultant. The session was great. Yasmin is a resourceful, motivating and an engaging person. My key take away from the session was the emphasis on tracking marketing contacts and how to define entry points for my business. As a marketer, I have attended many trainings and I felt that the session was a validation of what I have learned and drives business in my line of work. Phelena Jean, Founder of MADAM Indigo What I do: I provide luxury hair extensions for women of distinction. The most important lesson, I gained in this session was the necessity of keeping spreadsheets of integral contacts in my industry. Leilah Namisango What I do: Digital marketing executive/Head of content, Kidz Culture/Ramsa Ltd I am glad that this session tackled many things that I was eager to learn. The content delivery was okay and I loved the personalized interactions from the SLA co-founder. I felt that issues that touched on market research insights, customer profiles and business development were handled effectively by Yasmin. Loni Carol, Semgalawe What I do: Entrepreneur and founder of ILadu. I am in the development stages of setting up my business. I learnt a lot in this interactive session and what stood out the most was importance of customer research and Google creeping to my business. Ruth Nkirote, Director Tina LTD What I do: I am a marketer. She Hive Nairobi boot camp was a lively discussion full of gems. I got to learn more on my customers, what their problems are and how I can provide solutions for them. I now understand the importance of having to write down my business contacts and ideas. Lastly, Yasmin highlighted on how grow my business through my community and I can set value to my customers. Overall, She Hive addressed what my business needed to move forward. Anonymous The key points I’m taking away are to learn to get feedback from customers, the importance of being creative on how you market and getting out value set
Lungiswa Moore: Women of colour need a positive community
Community, sisterhood, friendship, marriage…these are all important topics for women of colour. Zimbabwe-born, US based Lungiswa Moore started her lifestlye and community website #mygirlsquad to foster positive connections online. Sisterhood is important and so is family and community but there are right ways to doing business with people you care about. Lungiswa share her tips on that and more. How did #mygirlsquad come about? #mygirlsquad is inspired by women of colour. We are strong, diverse and beautiful but this isn’t shown enough in the media and in our daily lives. Women of colour are grossly underrepresented. I wanted to create a platform to show the positive in women of colour, not just as individuals but as a collective and a community. There’s not enough being told about the growing positive trend of amazing women of colour breaking boundaries and collaborating on great things to uplift their community. We’re happy, loving and ambitious – that should be the narrative. What challenges have you encountered in the past with your business? The biggest trial for me was actually having faith in myself. Tackling self-doubt and steering with faith alone is a very lonely road. There have been many times I’ve been awakened from sleep by my fear of failure. It has made me procrastinate on deadlines and even made me lose opportunities because I felt that I wasn’t the person for it. As an entrepreneur, I feel that even if you’re running a one-man show, many things can go wrong in one day. However, if you allow your self-doubt and fears to overpower your faith and ambition to get through the day, you have already sunk your ship. Fear is inevitable. It’s a natural reaction when you’re faced with something unknown. Just don’t let it turn into doubt. When I start to get doubtful I always surround myself with affirmations. If you don’t have anyone in your life who can give you affirmations, you have to create them yourself. You need constant reassurance that you can do what you set yourself up to do. As someone who has worked with friends, is there a right and wrong way to it? From my experience there is. I’ve worked with many friends before and even with my husband. You have to first understand what your friend’s strengths and weaknesses are. It’s all fun and great when brainstorming ideas get flowing and there’s excitement about launching something together. But knowing your friend as a friend, and knowing your friend in business is different. Your friend may have your back when it comes to personal issues, but when you start dealing with money, things become different. So understanding their strengths and weaknesses puts you both in a better position to work cohesively in things that best fit each other. Some tips from me Always have a contract – this protects you both in case things go south. Communicate. A lot of misunderstandings can lead to bigger issues if they are unresolved. Conflict can carry into your friendship and things can go very sour very quickly if not resolved. Most importantly try to make time for your friendship. Sometimes, you become engrossed in the business side that the friendship gets lost. Remembering that you were friends before getting into business will go a long way. You mentioned working with your husband, how can young African women balance marriage with working with their partners? As an African woman, I found this a challenge when I started. I, along with many other women, have been raised to always put your husband first in your marriage. While that works within a marriage, it doesn’t always work that way in business. You sometimes have to go with your gut or put your husband last sometimes. In any business relationship, there will always be a difference in opinion one time or another, and when that happens – you have to deal with that pragmatically. I’m a passionate individual and I tend to have strong opinions. In instances where my husband would disagree with me, I would not only argue my point in a meeting but I’d find myself randomly arguing the same point while we’re watching our favorite show. That’s crazy! Knowing when to turn that business switch off is important, especially when working with your spouse. In a 9 to 5 it’s easy to come home after a hard day and vent to your spouse about your annoying co-worker or boss, but when you work together and the annoying co-worker is your spouse – it gets tricky. So, leaving business at the office and keeping the marriage at home is the best way to balance it. Why is sisterhood important? I’ve always believed in the power of numbers. No man is an island and you never succeed alone. As a woman of colour – why would you want to be alone, when you can be so much more as a collective? Collaborating with like-minded individuals, who share the same social and economical issues as you, in order to achieve something should be something sought after. We have a long way to go as women of colour – gender inequality, domestic violence, social and economic issues stunt our growth, yet we are the fastest growing demographic in several industries that include business and education. Imagine if we pulled all our resources together? If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here.
How a slash can transform your answer to the dreaded question; “What do you do?”
Before I delve into the slash, let me start with a question…When people ask you, “What do you do?” Does a one word answer come to mind? Or, is there a bit of mumbling, as you try to find the best way to describe what it is you do in a way that this person might understand. This one is for all my fellow Motherland Moguls who explain what they do by referencing one thing and then feel like they have left out a huge part of what they actually do. I used to just give up and say the title of my job, but since finding out about the slash effect by Marci Alobher (from her bestseller “One Person/Multiple Careers”) has helped me understand that we can create very interesting dynamics in our lives when we combine all our gifts and talents into our ‘what you do’! It is all a matter or being strategic and adding a simple “/”. According to Gail Sheehy, “a single fixed identity is a liability today”. She was totally right then, and is definitely right now. In this challenging economic climate, we have to be flexible and creative! So, what is the slash effect? In very simple terms, it is multiple identities, managed simultaneously! If someone asks me what I do? I’ll say I work in finance/life-coaching. I am a SLASH and that is totally okay. The thing is so many people already have the slash effect, but because the role on the other side might not make money, they disregard it and think of it as a side-gig only. That may be so, I mean we all have our side hustles, but embracing your slash just might be the extra step you need to make it profitable. Let’s look at some basic questions: Why? What? and When? So, why SLASH? Having a slash in your back pocket can be a wonderful luxury if your primary vocation turns out to be anything less than what you hoped for. Taking on a hobby as a full time career puts a lot of pressure on it to succeed. Instead, if you take it on as a slash, the pressure to succeed is off. You already have a career so there is a lot less to lose. Taking on slashes is a personal challenge that shows you just what you are made of! So, what do you actually SLASH? Like many things in life the answer here is: whatever. The slash life is not exclusive to certain type of passions or jobs; it is completely inclusive as long as it is an investment in something that is in line with who you are. The ‘what’ in this case depends on two key things: creativity and discipline. I will use myself as an example here. No one ever gave me permission to call myself a full blown life-coach. I constantly found myself advising people on life issues spanning form careers to relationships. With encouragement from good friends I realised that inspiring people either through speaking or writing was something I wanted to be more intentional about so I created my website. Another route in developing a slash based on talent and gifts is to see a need and fill it. This is how my friends and I gathered to form a foundation focused specially on educating girls in our home town Nigeria. None of us had any experience, but we have passion, dedication and a willingness to fail and learn along the way. We also have a lot of help, which is crucial as well. My work slash is my biggest slash, it’s the most for me. The other slashes are a lot about pouring out, whereas work is for my personal development and financial stability. All these aspects form my answer to the question, “What do you do?” Key points in slashing You may be wondering, how do I decide what my slash is? Some key points ladies! Choose anything, but be clear on the reason. Is it a raw talent? Meeting a need? A niche service? It needs to come from YOU. Make sure there is a balance between things you spend your energy on and things you can gain energy from. Life is all about balance, even in a busy slash life. Think about the whole picture, and not just the parts. If you work 16 hour days, and are thinking of slashing by running a website that requires 10 hours of reading and writing weekly, think Again sister! Clearly those are not compatible slashes. You will be exhausted. A slash is meant to elevate you, not cripple you with unattainable obligations. Know your limits and create a platter of slashes that makes you full enough to be satisfied. Not overwhelmed because you’ve eaten too much, or snacking because you are hungry. You know that feeling you get when the food was just enough to fully satisfy you? That nice and easy feeling? Yep…that’s the one you need here. A slash should bring balance and fullness to your life, not stress and angst. Slash something you are proud of! If you can’t sing your praises, no one else will! Say it loud and proud! I am a banker/dancer or I am a lawyer/blogger. Own who you are and enjoy the ride! For the third question, ‘when to slash’, look out for the next post. Before that get in formation ladies! Start thinking about your slash and when next you are asked, “What do you do?” Like a badass include that slash. Girl, Show them!
The 5 types of friends every woman needs in her late 20s and early 30s
“True friends are like diamonds—bright, beautiful, valuable and always in style.” – Nicole Ritchie Coming of age and navigating the tumultuous waters of adulthood, I was a big fan of the TV show “Sex and the city” as my friends and I looked to the show for advice on how to model our lives in a way that was fashionable and fun. As I grew older, I realized that there was another important “f factor” I needed to be on the lookout for when choosing friends, fulfillment. There comes a point in every young woman’s life, for me it hit in my late 20s as the dreaded 3-0 loomed closer, where you realize that it is time to put aside childish thoughts and ways and begin to think seriously about laying a stable foundation for your 30s and working towards the manifestation of that. In the last decade I have lived in 5 cities in 3 different countries. I have been a student, a traveler, a freelancer and full-time employee. I have gained, and lost, more than my fair share of acquaintances, kindred spirits, fair-weather and lifelong friends. The more I think about the different periods of my life and the people who were present during those times, the more I realize the great, and lasting, impact these people have had on my life. The ones that stand out in my mind and the ones whose friendships I still cherish are the ones who were with me laughing, crying, cursing, loving, losing and believing with me all the way. When I first watched the hit web TV series “An African City”, beyond the glamorous lives of these returnees, what struck me was the strong bond of friendship that existed between these 5 women, individually and collectively. Perhaps, wrapped in each of An African City’s complex character are a few lessons we could all learn about the types of friends every modern African woman needs to successfully navigate her late 20s and early 30s. The Lifer/Memory Keeper “An African City” is told from the viewpoint of NanaYa, who returns to Ghana with her parents after spending most of her life in America. We learn about the other characters through NanaYa’s insightful observations and it is clear that she is the glue that holds the group together. Every girl needs friends who can tell you the who/what/where/why of most of your major life moments, possibly because she has lived through most of them with you. The Lifer friend is someone who has been there with you through thick and thin and is not going anywhere, ever. You may choose different paths in life and there may come a time when you will be separated by distance and other relationships and commitments, but this is the friend that would drop everything to be by your side if you ever needed her. She will be the godmother of your children and the adopted daughter of your parents, she will be the one sitting next to you on a porch 50 years from now reminiscing about life and all the joy, sorrow, triumphs and failures it brought you both. Cherish the Lifers and Memory Keepers you have in your life. The Hustler The Hustler is portrayed by Zainab who moved to Ghana to start her own natural hair product business. She pours all her time and energy into making her business successful. Even through the trying times, Zainab always manages to keep her head above the water and proves that she deserves every bit of the success she has achieved. Every girl needs that Hustler chick among her circle of friends who is killing it professionally. Not only will she inspire you to aspire to greater heights, she is a fountain continuously springing forth invaluable advice on the dos and don’ts of navigating the business world. Your Hustler friend will have contacts and resources that you can tap into and before you know it, you might become the Hustler in your group as well. The Uplifter The sheer amount of change you will experience in your late 20s and early 30s is enough to leave anyone dazed and confused wondering why up is down and down is up and just how in God’s name you are supposed to make sense of it all. When I was about 25, I remember feeling like someone had pulled the rug out from under me. I was expected to graduate with honors, find a great, well-paying job, move into a nice, furnished apartment. Add to that I was to work long hours and still be out on the town every weekend having a good time, then get married, have a few babies all the while remaining a successful career woman. If it wasn’t for the grace of God, family and uplifting friends I would have gone crazy a long time ago. In “An African City”, Ngozi is the Uplifter, that one friend that you can always count on for an encouraging word when times are rough, the friend who not only listens attentively but also supports all your hopes and dreams, even the crazy, impractical ones. The Uplifter’s favorite word is “yes”. Sometimes it seems like the world is screaming no to all your efforts and that you are constantly being met with closed doors. When you’re just about ready to throw in the towel, it is refreshing to have that one voice that always says “”Yes, I believe in you”, “Yes, you can do it.” The No BS’er Say what you will about Sade’s character but she is actually my favorite character. While she appears to have many vices, Sade is the one character in the group who is always willing to call a spade a spade. And I believe every girl needs friends who will always tell them the truth, even when it hurts. Often, to keep the peace, girls avoid telling each other the ugly or painful truth. In the worst case scenarios, rather than
How to know if you’re ready to be an entrepreneur
Are you feeling an itch to test your prowess as an entrepreneur? Do you think it’s time to get to some self-medication for this entrepreneurial fever? Don’t! There is no magic pill that catapults you from your office cubicle to the members-only entrepreneurs island. Your success lies in a tiny mustard seed that needs to be nurtured. It’s the streak of hope that your crazy idea might just work. The glimmering light that tells you that you can make it. Starting a business means you’re opening up to possibilities between immeasurable success and catastrophic failure. The difference between the two can leave you indecisive. There may not be a set time or perfect recipe to starting your business. However, there are hints to let you know that possess the qualities to be a successful entrepreneur. Unsatisfactory work… Your present job no longer fulfills you like in the good old days. Instead it drains your energy and sucks life out of you like a vampire. Or it could be that you’re stuck under the heels of a Devil wears Prada boss barking orders at you here and there. When you stop getting fulfilled by your work, your work efficiency and productivity goes down. Beware though, a few bad days doesn’t guarantee that you are ready to walk down the entrepreneurial road. You have to be extremely tired of working for someone. A burning passion We have all attended (or been dragged to) those business pitch talks that set our imagination wild with ideas on how business is the next-thing for us. I’m talking about those presentations done by shady-looking speakers with fascinating (fake) success stories of how cash was made within no time. As an entrepreneur you shouldn’t be carried away with the hype. Entrepreneurial passion is about the itch. It’s about a business idea that won’t let go. This itch stems from inside you; it irritates you to get it done. It’s that pounding thought that tortures your mind from months. Most businesses that flourish are those that are hobbies of the business owners. If you have guts to turn a hobby into business, then you are ready to fly. Understanding that 100% of your efforts could vanish By now, you understand that there are serious risks involved in entrepreneurship; it could be losing all capital investment, facing legal problems or accruing debts. Before starting a business, you should research on the risks involved and how to mitigate them. Talk to experts whose start-ups failed, you could learn a thing or two. Do you think and act like an entrepreneur? Entrepreneurs are fascinating people; they think and act in a certain way. They are never content with things the way they are. Entrepreneurs always seek alternative ways to improve existing ideas. They take risks and are thrilled with trying new things. They are motivated by control, problem solving and creativity. A new business will teach you more than you think. You get to acquire new skills, grow thick skin and face the challenges that confront your ego. Why? You’ve got to answer the question —why am I starting a business? Is it because my job is boring? Can I be a better boss? Can I create new ideas? Will I solve problems more effectively? Have I reached a ceiling in my career? The answers to this question may be varied but you need to be truthful to yourself Finally your attitude dictates it all. If you don’t give up, don’t take no for an answer and don’t take things personally, then you are set for setting out in the Motherland Mogul path.
10 more TED talks by African women that will inspire you
In January, we shared 10 TED talks that will inspire you this year. As we’re already midway through the year, we figure inspiration levels may need a reboost. So, here are even more TED talks by African women running things that will remind you how awesome we all are at winning. 1. Siyanda Mohutsiwa Siyanda Mohutsiwa is a 22 year old blogger and writer from Botswana using the Internet to pursue her pan-African dreams. She is the person behind the #IfAfricaWasABar hashtag that went viral gaining over 60,000 tweets in July last year. Siyanda’s TED talk is a funny look into how young Africans are using the Internet, particularly through Twitter to get to know each other better. 2 Kechi Okwuchi Kechi Okwuchi is has achieved a whole lot in her lifetime. She survived the Sosoliso plane crash in 2005 that took the lives of 60 of her schoolmates who were flying home for the holidays. Kechi used her second chance at life to uncover her passions and went on to graduate magna cum laude from university. Her story inspires us to know ourselves and our vision. To remember that scars that don’t define us and that our passions can make our dreams a reality. 3. Achenyo Idachaba Achenyo Idachaba’s idea turned a plant associated with death and destruction to a source of lifelihood. In 2009, Achenyo left the United States to relocate to Nigeria where she put to life her concern for sustainable development in the country. She took the water hyacinth, a plant that clogs many Nigerian waterways and found a way to dry and weave its stems, transforming the plant into ropes that make pens, purses, tableware and much more. 4. Kakenya Ntaiya As a young Maasai woman, Kakenya Ntaiya already did things that no one else in her community had. She bucked gender expectations, negotiating with her father to stay in school, getting the male elders to support her to go to university in the United States and returning to set a girls’ school in her community. Kakenya’s story reminds us that when there’s a will, there will always be a way. 5. Juliana Rotich Juliana Rotich is the co-founder of Ushahidi and iHub. Ushahidi is a Kenyan open-source software used globally that collects and maps out information while the iHub is a collective tech space in Nairobi. In her TED talk, Juliana shares how she and her friends developed BRCK, a service that offers stronger Internet connectivity specifically designed for African needs such as power outages. 6. Ory Okolloh Ory Okolloh is an activist who regularly reports on the going-ons of the Kenyan parliament. She started the blog Mzalendo that shined a light into the goings-on in the parliament, bringing citizens closer to their government at a time when what went on in the Kenyan parliament was secretive. Here she gives insight into her heroic work as an activist. 7. Kah Walla Kah Walla is a Cameroonian entrepreneur, activist and political leader. She is also the first woman to run for president in Cameroon. Kah has worked in developing solutions to encourage economic growth and democracy in her country. It doesn’t get more inspiring than listening to the words of a pioneer. 8. Panashe Chigumadzi Panashe Chigumadzi is a writer and storyteller from Zimbabwe. Her debut novel, “Sweet Medicine” is highly acclaimed and she has produced a documentary, “Africa’s Upstarts”. Here, Panashe reminds us that stereotypes can shape the way even we view ourselves. While this makes them hard to shake off, technology can change that by more equally distributing power that Africans can use to their advantage. 9. Jepchumba A digital artist and founder of the African Digital Art Network, Jepchumba is a role model for working where your passions lie. At TEDxEuston, Jepchumba says her entire life is based online and reveals that Africa’s digital potential is hidden submerged under the surface just waiting to rise. 10. Lindiwe Mazibuko Lindiwe Mazibuko was the youngest parliamentary leader and the first black woman to be the Leader of the Opposition in South Africa. In her talk, Lindiwe gives her reasons why young Africans in the Diaspora should return to work in civil service in their respective countries. Lindiwe reminds young people not to run away from politics and find ways to give back to our countries for the better.