8 free business apps you should download right now
We’re not going to point any fingers but some of you are addicted to your phones. Not in a cutesy ‘I just like to capture moments type of way’, but in an ‘if I don’t find network right now I will slap someone’ kind of way. It’s not our place to judge but that type of addiction might demonstrate your priorities aren’t straight. If you’re spending more time on your phone chatting and double tapping instead of getting work done, you might soon run out of money to pay for that data bill. Don’t fret —after all that doom and gloom you know your home girls at SLA have come to hook you up. What if you didn’t have to choose between work and play on your phone. What if there were these magical tools that could help you track your sales while you take your selfies? That magical tool would obviously be two heads, and unfortunately for African parents across the world, we haven’t figured that one out yet. All we’ve done is find some cool mobile applications you can download right now to make it easier to get your work done while you’re on the go, looking for network signal. 1.Track My Life Ever wondered how much time you spend watching makeup tutorials on YouTube? Track My Life can help you figure out how you’re spending your time. However, it won’t be able to stop you from clicking the next video. This app can help you figure out which activities are taking up the majority of your time and if those aren’t high value tasks or helping you bring in more revenue, then they’ve got to go! 2. CamCard Did you lose the business card you got from potential bae while you were “networking”? With Camcard you can manage and exchange business cards right from your phone. Once you get a card, you scan details and they are stored directly in your phone. If you did mean to lose that card, what excuse are you going to use now? Your dog chewed it up? 3.Booksy Biz Picture this, your side hustle as a makeup artist is starting to pick up, you’re getting booked every other weekend and it’s getting harder to keep track of your new clients. This is not the time for you to forget about appointments and lose the goodwill you’ve built up. Booksy Bizz is a mobile appointment calendar and scheduling app that can help you manage staff, communicate with customers and manage appointments. This app will make it seem like you have a personal assistant working 24/7 when it’s actually just you in your pajamas, eating ice cream. 4.QuickBooks Online Keeping track of expenses is the worst!! Who even has time for receipts? says the person who doesn’t want their business running out of money. If you want to build a long term and financially sustainable business then you have to keep track of the numbers. QuickBooks let’s you invoice clients and manage your expenses. Now you’ll have no more excuses figuring out where your money went. 5.Perch Small Business Thanks to Perch Small Business you don’t need to reserve your Instagram stalking your friends and ex boyfriend’s new fiancée. You can now extend those skills to your competitors and their social media movements and know exactly what they’re up to. Use Perch to get a bird’s eye view of reviews, social posts and promotion for you and your competition all in one place. 6. Tiny Scanner Why is it that every single business transaction in Africa requires tons and tons of paperwork? I feel like the next time I go to KFC they’re going to ask for 2 passport pictures and a signed affidavit. If you’re in an industry that requires a lot of paperwork, then having access to your files in an organized manner is necessary. Tiny Scanner let’s you scan your documents and save them on your mobile device, iPad, or tablet anywhere you go. 7. HootSuite It’s great that Instagram allows to switch between multiple accounts, but what about the wahala in switching between multiple social media platforms and keeping track of them? Hootsuite allows you to manage multiple networks, schedule posts, and engage your audience all in one place. 8. Wunderlist Few things can compare to the relief you feel after checking off something on your to do list. This app will keep your business in sync whether you are managing multiple projects, delegating assignments to co workers or just making sure you actually eat during lunch time one day this week. Know any other cool apps that have helped you increase your productivity, keep your mind focused and helped your business grow? Share them with us.
Copyright: Preserving your creative work in a social era
The last segment (here) was to follow with a detailed discussion on the non-disclosure agreement. However, conversations with some entrepreneur friends this week warranted a discussion about copyright protections. During the discussion, it was quite evident that some entrepreneurs believe the notion of copyright is all but a fictional concept in frontier markets like Nigeria, especially in a social era where creative works are easily available to the public through social media sites. The comments during the conversation included, “no one cares about copyright, if my work is stolen, life goes on,” “but what courts in Nigeria have the time to resolve copyright cases when it has more interesting election cases pending before it?” and“I barely have enough time to run my business let alone go through the tedious copyright registration process.” During the colourful conversation, entrepreneurs seemed to agree that copyright protection is alive and well in Western countries. However in frontier markets, copyright protection has been tucked deep into the judicial mountains, making enforcement merely a fantasy. The comments of these highly talented entrepreneurs were littered with elements of ambiguity about enforcement procedures, and most importantly, what constitutes copyrightable work. 1. Copyrightable work—Distinguishing the leaves in the forest Copyright protects creative and original expressions such as images, music, and texts. In some jurisdictions, copyright protects particular expressions of ideas and not the general idea itself. For example, the U.S. Copyright statute dictates that “[in] no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work” (17 U.S.C. Section 102(b)). Similarly, the Nigerian Copyright Commission noted that a “work is ‘created’ when it is ‘fixed’ in a tangible medium.” Thus, in some jurisdictions, copyright protection does not reach beyond the protection of the specific form of idea. To illustrate, if you and a friend both decide to independently create a painting of Mount Kilimanjaro, your two paintings could qualify as copyrightable work if you both expressed your work in your original forms. To this end, it is not the idea of painting the mountain that is protected; rather, the original form or the painters’ expression of the mountain is what is protected by copyright. Simply put, copyrightable work is analogous to the leaves in a forest; each leaf appears in a form that is distinguishable from the other despite having similar characteristics with other leaves. The second point raised during the conversation was the lack of time to register their work. The good news is that in some jurisdictions, this is not an issue because protection is automatic once one’s work is released into the public domain. In such instances, registration becomes a mere formality and helps put the general public on notice. Registration also has the added benefit of making enforcement and seeking judicial remedies easier. Thus, depending on one’s jurisdiction, registration of one’s work may not be a prerequisite to benefiting from copyright protection. Nonetheless, formal registration is highly recommended. 2. Copyright protection is well and alive, even in African countries! Recent developments this month reminded me that copyright protection is alive and well, even in African countries! Last week, The Nation newspaper reported that “[a] Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, February 12, dismissed the preliminary objections filed by former winner of the Face of Africa pageant, Oluchi Onweagba, who was contesting a copyright suit filed against her”. The Nation noted that Chudi Charles, an executive officer of International Pageant and Films, filed the infringement suit seeking N780 billion in damages on grounds that the defendants used West Africa’s Next Top Model, his registered brand, without his consent. Indeed, the dismissal of the preliminary objections does not necessarily predict the court’s ruling on the matter. Nonetheless, judicial decisions over the past few years signaled the judiciary’s commitment to enforcement. For example, in November 2015, a federal high court sitting in Lagos awarded an artist, Dr. Sunday Adeniyi Adeye a/k/a King Sunny Ade, damages in the amount of N500 million for copyright infringement. In 1997, King Sunny Ade filed suit against African Song on grounds of using his master tapes to produce duplicates of his work for public sale without his consent and any remuneration. Several years later, the court ordered the defendants to pay damages. (Sunday Adeniyi Adeye vs. African Song FHC/L/CS/196/97). Similarly, in Angella Katatumba v. The Anti-Corruption Coalition of Uganda (ACCU) (H.C.C.S No. 307 of 2011), a Ugandan high court ordered the Anti-Corruption Coalition of Uganda (“ACCU”) to pay damages in the amount of UShs. 25 million to Katatumba, an artist, on grounds that ACCU incorporated Katatumba’s song into an advertisement jingle without her consent. Likewise, in Nonny Gathoni Njenga & anor v. Catherine Masitsa & 2 ors Civil Case No. 490 of 2013, a Kenyan high court ordered the defendants, Masitsa et al., from reproducing, translating, or adapting the plaintiffs’ literary work, “Wedding Show with Gathoni” into the defendants’ TV Show “Samantha’s Bridal Show.” Despite the fact that “Samatha’s Bridal Show” was running prior to “Wedding Show with Gathoni,” the court’s ruling was made on grounds that the defendants “changed their old running order [of their TV show, Samantha’s Bridal Show] and copied the plaintiffs.” Thus, although copyright cases may not make headlines very often, this does not necessarily mean that enforcement has been erased from the judicial fabric. 3. Practical tips As an entrepreneur, you should register your original expression with your copyright registration office. Use copyright notices, e.g. ©, on your copyrightable work. Such notices not only puts the public on notice but aids in preventing an forger from making an innocent infringement defense—a defense whereby the forger claims that they were not aware their act constituted copyright infringement. If you are using photos, music, or other third-party material for your new venture, seek appropriate consent. You do not want to be subjected to a copyright lawsuit that could potentially
Motherland Mogul playlist: Women’s History Month Edition
Shout out to all the ladies in the house!!! It’s Women’s History Month and it’s that wonderful time of year when we get to recognize all of the incredible women who’ve made an impact on the world, our countries and our communities. It’s that time of the year to strategize on how to improve the conditions for women across the globe. No Women’s History Month would be complete without a playlist of fist raising, hip shaking anthems to inspire and motivate us to keep working for equality and opportunities for women everywhere. Here are some of our favorite songs that you should keep on repeat this month. Lira – Rise Again Beyoncè – Grown Woman Stella Mwangi – Identify Yourself Queen Latifah – UNITY BLU3 – Strong Woman Destiny’s Child – Independent Women ONE Campaign – Strong Girl Brenda Fassie – Good Black Woman Whitney Houston & Chaka Khan – I’m Every Woman Alicia Keys – Girl On Fire Becca – African Woman Aretha Franklin – Respect What are some of your favorite inspiring and motivating songs by women? Let us know and we’ll add them to the list.
Come what may…business must go on
To all intents and purposes, many economies on the continent have seen a slowdown. Businesses are being tested for resilience, they are being pushed to the edge, and the strength and acumen of their value chains are being tested. But come what may, businesses must go on. They may not thrive as they when the economy was buoyant, but they must continue in earnest. As I think about these times, two things come to mind. The need to build a strong brand to have a sustainable and viable business in and out of a slowdown. The need to continually prepare and plan to scale your business around the core business activity at the earliest possible opportunity. Building a brand. Building a business What is the difference between a brand and a business? A business is an enterprise that creates an opportunity to trade and generate revenue. A brand is made up of intrinsic values, quality and characteristics that endear clients and aspirational clients to the business. I always say when starting a business, it is crucial to focus on building the brand first, so that you can have a viable, sustainable business in the medium to long term. And building a brand is not child’s play. A business brand is almost always made up of the personal and business values of the CEO. Especially for a small business, it is almost impossible to separate the personal brand of the CEO from the business brand. These become indistinguishable given that the CEO is the face of the business, and most likely the primary client-facing representative of the business. For the business owner and CEO, this brings home the need to reflect on, define and articulate your personal and business values right from the outset. This delivers you your business brand. Understand and define what you are trying to achieve with your business and what values are aligned with that personal and business aspirations. Then, commit to live those values – through how you operate your business, how you choose and interact with clients, the quality of your services and products, how you recruit and engage with staff, how you present yourself to the world – presentation skills, public speaking skills, networking, and personal style. When we focus on these from the outset, we endear clients, and essentially revenues, to our business, create brand loyalty, and, come what may, in and out of recession, we enjoy a level of brand loyalty. Scaling your business Most business start with one core idea, concept, initiative, but there is always an opportunity to scale and expand that business. Think of a fashion brand that starts initially producing clothes, then start to produce and sell accessories, then later on goes into interiors, and maybe even then a lifestyle venture such as a restaurant. What enables such a business to do that successfully is the power of their brand. When a brand is strong, it has a following, and clients will seek out that brand for every aspect of their daily needs. It’s an intentional decision. Many global corporations and their CEOs at one point decided to develop their personal and business values (=brand) to keep their clients and customers hooked. In the event of an economic slowdown or economic upturn, their business, through their brand strength, remains a viable and sustainable enterprise. You can do it! The price of business and entrepreneurship is uncertainty, and the prize is a vision fulfilled, success even in the midst of uncertainty. Someone recently shared with me a precise lesson in living. They said, if we knew the times and seasons, if we knew exactly what would happen to us or our business next month, next year or in 3 year, we would not need faith, we would not need to be resilient. It is often the uncertainty in business and the ambition and determination to curb that very uncertainty that fuels the drive to success. Risk taking buoyed by a strong brand can bring some comforting business stability. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too – Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
Creating impact that works: Tips from my start-up experience in Ghana
Naa-Sakle Akuete is the founder of Eu’Genia Shea, the first line of premium shea moisturizers dedicated to using 100% natural ingredients in partnership with female cooperatives in Ghana. She shares what she’s learned from working with rural communities for her natural products. When my mother founded a shea butter manufacturing company in Ghana in 1999, she had never heard the term “double bottom line.” She did, however, know that if she was going to succeed in business, she wanted to do so in an ethical manner. By partnering with pickers from female cooperatives, paying them above-market prices, and offering organic and financial training, she was able to ensure that her community thrived along with her business. Her decades of experience inspired me to start my own finished products line last year: Eu’Genia Shea. As I pore through her life’s work, applying lessons learned and trying to avoid mistakes already made, one point shines through brightly: good intentions do not always yield good results. Hopefully, some of these points will be helpful to others aiming to make mutually beneficial business partnerships in rural developing communities. Build Trust You know yourself, you understand your motives, and without a doubt, your heart is in the right place. But even if you are native to the country/region/community, how can others be assured of this goodwill if they do not know you? SNV is a Swiss nonprofit dedicated to “creating effective solutions with local impact”, in this case facilitating savings. They entered Damongo, Ghana with speeches and promises, but without any connections. The cooperatives with which we work were understandably wary. How many times have they encountered non-profits who raised their hopes only to disappear, or worse still, people claiming to have their best interests in mind, only to cheat them? They sent the confused SNV away then SNV came to my mother to explain their mission. My mother spoke on their behalf, and now SNV is a valued contributor to these cooperatives. Bottom line: Understand the legacy of the community and approach accordingly, whether through an intermediary or through years of proving yourself (which takes a bit longer, but Mum can confirm it works!) Listen There are thousands of aid organizations flooding millions of dollars into poor communities globally. Most of them have good intentions, but their money still goes to waste. For example, on one visit to our facilities in Damango, Mum occasionally saw workers without shoes. As a westerner, or a native with a westerner’s perspective, this is jarring for a number of reasons, not least of all because of the safety implications. She spoke with the women and made a point of purchasing shoes for all of the workers on her next trip to the US to ensure that no one was left unprotected. Upon her return, some women again were not wearing shoes. When she inquired about it, she discovered two things: some husbands were absconding with their wives’ shoes and some women found it difficult to maneuver in the new shoes. Had my mum taken the time to dig a little deeper originally, she would have found that buying local shoes closely fitting each woman would have helped solve both problems. Encourage them to maintain assets Now you’re partnering with a community whose needs you understand and are able to address. You’ve suggested ideas and implemented technology where appropriate; they’ve told you why half of your bright ideas aren’t quite so bright, and everything is moving along swimmingly. It’s come time to leave them for a couple weeks, months, or years… Before you leave operations in their hands, make sure you’ve given them the tools and know-how to maintain (and how often to maintain) any machinery you’ve introduced. The once shiny, now corroded Japan Motorbike rusting by our plot is a great example of something that made life easy for a couple months before falling into disrepair. Choose the right customers You’re running a business not a charity. On one end, you have Bill Gates in Microsoft era and on the other, Bill Gates in the Bill & Melinda Foundation era. You don’t have to be either extreme, but what you have to do is make enough money to keep yourself afloat and to continue the work you’re doing. If social impact causes your products to be slightly more expensive than competitors, find the customers who care. And make sure your product is worth it! At Eu’Genia Shea, not only do we pay above market wages, provide training, and give 15% of our profits back to our workers, our longevity in the industry helps ensure our products are always of the highest quality. Our customers get expertly moisturized skin, our partners make a good living, and we get to keep on doing what we love — win/win! Transparency Your aim is to do great things, so be open about it. Maybe you’re not doing quite as much as you’d like yet. For example, 15% of profits covers some of the tuition costs of our worker’s children, but not all. I’d love Eu’Genia to be able to give all the children in our communities a free education. I’d love to provide all past and future workers with a pension when they retire. I’d love to offer free daycare to workers whose children are below school age. The reality, however, is that I’m not in a position to do any of this yet. That doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t try though. Along the way, I’m sure I’ll make mistakes. But my mistakes can be learning points for me and other entrepreneurs like me. Being transparent about our goals and processes not only allows others to give us valuable feedback, but also supports the growth of all enterprises looking to make an impact. We live in a big and complicated world with many societal issues I’ve never heard of or understood. If those who are able can contribute to improve the landscape how best they know, our actions will magnify each other’s. I’m excited to
6 ways to build your personal brand
Personal branding is that mythical thing where you decide you want to be famous and have a reality TV show with your family, right? Umm…not exactly. Simply put, it’s the perception that people have about you after your interactions on a regular basis – be it a business meeting, social gathering or from your online presence. After other people form their perception, the question for you is what they observe about you, what you want them to remember? If the answer is no or you’re not sure, here are a couple of tips to help you build a personal brand that you can be proud of. 1. Define your brand The first step is to know who you are, your personal goals, mission and what you want to be known for. We all have different passions and ambitions so having a personal brand isn’t exclusively for public figures. If you want to be computer programmer, what are the unique skills you want to be known for? If you want to become a popular stylist, what style and approach do you bring to your clients so that they remember you? Once you define that, develop a personal mission statement that summarizes who you are, what you do, who do you do it for, and how do you deliver value in a way that no one else does. 2. Start Building Your Reputation Once you’ve developed your personal mission statement, now is the time to let people know about it. Take time out to network, go to forums within your industry, and find opportunities to interact with different people both socially and in business. Personally, I always set a target each month of people I would like to interact with. I also create a target list of the business workshops or events in my area of expertise that I want to attend in order to build my skills and meet new people. This way, I get to grow and represent my brand as well. 3. Get Advice Amid all this networking and building visibility, it can be easy to get carried away and forget to find potential mentors or advisors. Mentors can help you focus all those ideas you have running through your mind, and hopefully share advice that can keep you from making common mistakes. Not all mentors need to come from your area of expertise. It can be good to find someone with a totally different background than you who can give you an external point of view and general leadership advice. 4. Know Your Stuff If you are going to start claiming to be an expert in an area, then you should definitely be an expert in an area. That doesn’t mean you can’t continue to learn and grow, but you should have a good idea of where your talents lie and how you’re going to build upon them. Get to know your weaknesses, identify your strengths and work to become the best person in that area. Your goal is to become the first person people think of when they have a problem they want to solve or are looking for an expert, so make sure you’re ready for the opportunity when they come calling. 5. Maintain Your Connections After you do all of the hard work to start to build a reputation and connect with relevant people in your industry, you also have to put in the effort to keep up with your brand new contacts. Use social media and blogging to keep your brand in the right places and the right publications. Set up a system where you’re sending follow up emails to every business card you collect or person you meet at conferences. As you maintain your connections, then they’ll be more likely to recommend you for new opportunities or open up their network further. 6. Keep Learning and Improving Your Skills Have you noticed a common pattern here? Just because you decide to become an expert in something and build your personal brand around it doesn’t mean your job is finished. If you want to maintain relevance in the market and stand out for the long term then you need to make sure you’re always on top of relevant trends and continue to add new skills to your toolkit. In conclusion, becoming well known in one area of expertise is so important for Motherland Moguls today. When you can’t rely on a job to employ you forever, we all have to be masters of our fate and keep our options open. Hope these tips gave you a good road map to starting building your personal brand and showing the world all you have to offer.
5 tech tools for blogging bosses
If you’re a blogger, you probably know how time-consuming managing a blog can be. You need tech tools for blogging because between editing your pictures just right, resizing them for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram—and making sure your posts are typo-free—one can become frazzled very quickly. Blogging bosses cannot afford to be stressed out. We must maintain an air of effortlessness at all costs. So, here are a few of my favorite tech tools that take care of the annoying parts of the blogging business so you can keep focused on the big picture. Fiverr Delegate, delegate or delete; that’s my mantra. If something will take up more time than I have available, I find a capable person to handle it or I delete the idea. Find a programmer to do those annoying CSS edits to get your blog looking just right, or hire the perfect graphic designer to breathe new life into your blog images. Fiverr has it all, and for $5 a pop, you can too. No wahala! Tomorrow App How many times have you been stumped trying to figure out where you wrote your to-do list? Okay, maybe you’re organized and your lists are always within reach, but, there’s nothing like being able to see all your to-do’s, personal and professional, in one place and never run out of paper! Tomorrow App is a simple app without distractions. Just put in a to-do item and tap to cross the item off the list when it’s completed. If you don’t get to it, it automatically transfers everything over to the next day. I’m a staunch ‘paper and pen’ girl, but this Tomorrow App on my phone is a lifesaver! PicMonkey I take most of the pictures for my blog, ThisAfropolitanLife. Photography is on my list of creative pursuits. As much as I try to make sure I take pictures good enough to post without edits, sometimes I fail and a little touching up is necessary. PicMonkey is a quick and effective online tool. No need to download anything, just upload and edit away. For blog graphics and more involved designs, I use Canva. Canva Between Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and all the other social media platforms, one can be tasked with a nightmare of a job; adjusting one single photo into dozens of different sizes, just to make sure they display properly. Canva makes this easy and eliminates the stress. They have pretty pre-designed templates in all social media sizes you need. It’s a one-stop-shop to make all your blog graphics come to life. Grammarly There’s nothing more off-putting than an errant typo or grammatical error on a blog post. Don’t loose readers, tighten up your prose with Grammarly; a free tool that catches typos and grammatical errors. It’s like having your own personal editor or English professor within reach. Just upload your document or post and watch Grammarly work its magic.
Young women and marriage: 3 conversations we keep having
Some days ago on a road trip to IITA Ibadan for my company’s annual retreat, there was this huge debate between what I have chosen to call the new school modern family values enthusiasts and the old school traditional family values enthusiasts, over married women and their career choices/decisions. It was a long and interesting conversation, voices were raised, opinions flew back and forth, words were exchanged (although with no ill intents), feelings and sentiments were bruised, perspectives were vehemently challenged and even faith was questioned. At the end of the trip (and as such the conversation), there was no victor and no vanquished, proving (yet again) that: Opinions are formed over time, experiences and the accumulation of a body of knowledge and it takes more than one heated conversation to get people to change those opinions. Back to the reason we are all gathered here today, I think that because of my age, most of the conversations I have with family, friends, acquaintances and even colleagues are pivoted around, you-guessed-right! Marriage. So, while we talk business, entrepreneurship, career and our shared ambition to take over the world, we should also take a moment to address the pink elephant in the room. So, tag along while I attempt to dissect some of the concerns we young women have when it comes to the institution of marriage. The validity of aspiring to marriage With Chimamanda Adichie’s 2013 TED talk (made even popular by Beyonce’s inclusion in the song, Flawless) finding its way into mainstream culture and conversations, we women are gradually being liberated from that flawed conviction that marriage is the gold standard and a ‘mark of success in life’. While this can be called progress in some ways, it also has its downsides. Hold on, let me explain. The feminist-driven academic and journalistic culture celebrating today’s “liberated” women, also in some ways, seeks to suppress a natural need for family that most women have. In recent times, there has been a blizzard of anti-marriage sentiments shared vocally among the female folks especially across social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. And this is largely because most of them do not want to be seen as aspiring to marriage but hand on heart – and this is quite controversial. I do not know of one woman who does not want to have her own husband and possibly children to come home to after a long day at work. When discussing the issue in an open and public platform, most young women would be quick to put up an air of indifference with respect to marriage but get her alone and the story would be entirely different. There, I’ve said it! (But let’s not forget that this is an entirely unscientific view based only on my circle of friends, acquaintances and interactions with random people). Therefore, my take on this issue is rather simple: as much as marriage is not the holy grail of womanhood, I think wanting to be married and subsequently aspiring to it, is valid! As such, you are allowed to be intentional about it, as you are with work/business. (For more on this please try reading this from Dr. Meg Jay). The dichotomy between marriage and work In 2011, the COO of Facebook Sheryl Sandberg made a statement that went viral; “The most important career choice you’ll make is who you marry.” I only came across this statement last year and it was insightful for me because it reaffirmed a conviction that I have always held and still hold; that the man I marry would take me one step closer to my biggest dreams. Before going further, I should clearly state that I have nothing against stay-at-home mums. On the contrary, any woman who readily gives up the fancy skirt suits and board meetings for house cleaning and grocery shopping has my respect. However, I do not think that marriage and even motherhood has to be a stumbling block on a woman’s pathway to progress. Society typically expects the woman to lean back and make only those career moves that are convenient for her status as a married woman but that does not always have to be the case. Family is a collective and shared responsibility placed equally on both the man and the woman even though both have to function in different capacities. With proper planning, communication and understanding between partners, I believe it is possible for both to raise a decent family without anyone’s dreams or goals suffering for it. This is where Sheryl’s statement becomes important. Because for this to happen and for this system to work, you need a man who acknowledges the validity of your dreams, believes in the weight of your ambitions and is ready and willing to support you towards reaching your goals regardless of what that ‘support’ might involve. So yes, married or single, you are allowed to aspire to heights unimaginable in your personal and professional life and marriage if done right, would serve as a catalyst and not a distraction. Knowing when enough is enough! There are reports that say that every fourth Nigerian woman suffers some form of domestic violence in her life time. The worst forms of these are usually battering, trafficking, rape and homicide. And it seems only sensible that I lend my voice to this recurring social menace that is plaguing our society, the institution of marriage and women in particular. This is however not to say that men do not suffer domestic abuse or to disregard that possibility. On this issue, there really isn’t so much I have to say that would be entirely new to you but this, LEAVE! If you unfortunately find yourself in an abusive relationship, before you consider any other solution or any form of therapy, get yourself out of that situation and environment. No man is allowed to hit you out of love or in an attempt to discipline you or for any other reason that you may want to let yourself believe.
Moni Baruwa: I spend less time focusing on competition and more on differentiating my brand
What do you do when you have the travel bug and just can’t get it out of your system? Well, you start a business of course! Moni Baruwa has visited more than 25 countries, lived on 3 continents and connected with people from all across the globe. Her travels and the path of self-discovery and development led her to start her very first business venture in CountlessMiles. CountlessMiles is a travel startup that aims to transform the African’s perception of travel by curating unique, cultural and fun destination experiences within and outside the African continent. Moni shared with us some of her thoughts on the black travel movement, filling in the gaps in her startup toolkit and her jollof of choice. Why don’t you believe young Africans currently see intra Africa travel as an attractive option? Traveling within Africa requires deeper introspection. Generally, the average young African’s idea of a travel destination has been focused on places where they can shop or conduct business, or show on social media and positively impact their social status. These historically have included locations in the UK, US, and Dubai. If a destination does not fit into this, then it is not seen as appealing. So our goal is not only to make intra Africa (and global) travel more attractive, but also to change the perception of travel as a whole to a means of learning and self-development. I’ll use myself as an example. When I started solo traveling, and not just to shop or take pictures, the experiences forced me out of my comfort zone, and I developed the boldness to take risks and think bravely in ways that even a college degree didn’t offer. I believe if more of our young people have similar cultural experiences exploring other regions, cultures and ways of life, and brought home the knowledge, we would see significant impact from the community levels to the economic level. Additionally, and equally important, Africa travel is quite expensive and costs the same or sometimes more than the more “attractive” travel options like Europe, US and the Middle East, so young travelers often opt for this. It’s similar to the dilemma US travelers face when trying to choose to travel to the West Coast from the East Coast, as compared to spending less on a round-trip flight to Europe. Black Travel has become quite a popular topic in the media recently with companies like Travel Noire and Tastemakers Africa getting a lot of media attention for providing young black travelers with other options for travel and showcasing another side of the travel industry? What is CountlessMiles bringing to the conversation and adding value to the industry? This is a question I get asked a lot. It is quite amazing the work that businesses like Travel Noire and Tastemakers Africa are doing. For instance, Travel Noire has totally transformed the travel industry for black people. I remember when I traveled, I didn’t see a lot of people like me – black and more so African, so this is good progress. We have similar goals and missions in that we are changing the conversation with regards to blacks and travel. However, the approaches are quite different. Our goal at CountlessMiles is two-fold: we aim to not only change the average African’s perception of travel but also consciously add Africans to the “black traveler” community. This group of travelers is typically different from the black traveler community because they have unique barriers to travelling including issues such as obtaining visas with a non blue/maroon passport, finding travel health insurance to name a few. When I traveled around Eastern Europe and I visited Bosnia and Herzegovina, the guy at the immigration border gave me a dirty look because of my Nigerian passport. He almost gave me a hard time getting in, but because of my experience with similar issues, I was fortunately able to convince him otherwise. Similarly, in Vancouver, the receptionist at the place I stayed said he had never seen a Nigerian passport before, so they made a souvenir of my passport. I was pleasantly surprised at that but it made sense, in part because of their own lack of curiosity, but largely because Africans haven’t fully embodied the essence of traveling the way the Europeans or Australians do, and have yet to reach that far. This I believe makes CountlessMiles unique in its approach and impact – consciously encouraging Africans to travel the world in a unique way, while subconsciously opening up better tourism relationships with other countries and hopefully less visa hassles for Africans, especially West Africa. At CountlessMiles, we say “Your vacation starts with You”, because we focus on curating authentic personalized experiences for any African looking to travel, based on their budget and travel preferences. The primary service we provide, which is crafting a destination experience, is very customer-centric, while most of the competition seems to be focused on creating group trips that people can sign up for. The travel industry across West Africa is very fragmented and has many small-scale operators. How will you identify the best operators that are able to deliver the experience your customers are expecting? The great thing about experiential travel is being able to connect with the locals, the culture, and the new environment. This is the approach we take at CountlessMiles – visit the countries ourselves, get immersed in the culture, meet the locals and get information about the best offerings in the region, and build informal long-lasting relationships with potential partners. This way we are able to curate the best and most authentic experiences for clients based on first-hand knowledge and experienced recommendations. Another useful resource that has worked particularly in West Africa is leveraging on our network across the region. Luckily through my travels and life path, I have been blessed to meet people who are key influencers in various West African countries. I am working with them to develop a list of the best operators that we
7 habits to help you have a good day…everyday
Do you sometimes sluggishly drag yourself out of bed on a Monday morning? To stay on your A game, you have to cultivate certain habits to increase energy and productivity for the week ahead. These seven habits are a sure fire way to give you the needed boost to start your day right. 1. Get enough sleep Being able to wake up early in the morning has its perks, one of which is better control over your schedule for the day. If you can wake up early in the morning – awesome! If not, that is also okay. People have different sleep patterns and rhythms. Whether you’re a night owl or an early bird, the most important thing is that you find what time you are most productive at and invest your hours into that period of the day. The trick however, is to either go to bed early so you can wake up earlier in the morning or go to bed late and wake up later in the day, but in accordance to your schedule for the day. Some of the benefits of getting adequate sleep include a strengthened immune system, improved focus and better mood. Overall, you want to strive for that balance where you get enough sleep while being able to do your work when you function best. 2. Exercise The benefits of exercising daily are innumerable. Exercise helps you fight diseases, increases your energy throughout the day and improves your mood by releasing the hormone serotonin. Biologically speaking, here is how this logic works: exercise increases your heart rate, which functions to pump oxygenated blood to your tissues and organs. A few side effect include an increased brain function and focus as well as an increased oxygen flow to the muscles providing adequate energy to do work. Having trouble sleeping at night? Get some aerobic exercises in before bed, then thank me later. However, don’t feel you have to go overboard when exercising. A 10 minute jog, a walk, or any cardio workout will do. The key is to go slow and steady at first, then increasing the tempo over time until it becomes a habit. For starters, just grandma-shuffling through any of these also counts as exercise, as long as it gets your heart racing. 3. Pray or meditate Prayer and meditation are a form of alternative therapy. Prayer has been in existence since the beginning of time and there is increasing evidence from decades of scientific studies that it works! Irrespective of your religion, the efficacy of prayer and meditation undoubtedly supersede the effectiveness of medications, especially when dealing with ailments of the body and mind like depression or anxiety. Harvard physician Herbert Benson in his book The relaxation response discusses the correlation between health and prayer. At such times, the body’s stress level decreases from the lowering of the heart rate and the body’s metabolism to decreased blood pressure and a calmer and more regular breathing rate. On a similar note, Dr. Andrew Newberg, director of the Center for Spirituality and the Mind at the University of Pennsylvania conducted a study of Tibetan Buddhists in meditation and Franciscan nuns in prayer where he found that prayer and meditation increase levels of the body’s “happy” hormone, dopamine. The goal is to set time aside in quietness, withdrawn from distractions to just focus on yourself and connect with a spiritual being. 4. Eat breakfast Breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day. Just as cars need fuel, breakfast also plays a similar role in helping increase alertness throughout the day. Without breakfast, people may become irritable, lack energy or focus. 5. Drink warm water and lemon If you’re unable to eat breakfast, gulping down a cup of water and lemon before dashing out can help you get a head start on a productive day. The warmth of the water aids in digestion and the lemon provides the body with Vitamin C, which gives the immune system an added boost, balances the body pH and clears the skin of blemishes. So if you’re not able to have breakfast, this is a surefire way to re-hydrate and energize you before your next meal. Just don’t swallow the lemon! 6. Affirm yourself Look in the mirror and smile at yourself for about 15 to 30 seconds. Yes, I know it sounds silly, but try it. Alternatively, if you feel embarrassed doing that, look in the mirror and speak to yourself words of affirmation like: “I am beautiful” “Today is going to be a great day’ ‘I am an amazing individual” “I have what it takes to succeed”. Whatever mantra you choose to chant to yourself is guaranteed to not only boost your self-esteem, but also give you confidence throughout the day and help you overcome challenges as they come by. Words have power and can influence your mood. Choose them carefully. 7. Make a list of your top three goals Make a list of the top three goals you intend to achieve for the day. You may have a long list of tasks that you plan to achieve, but worrying over those will get you nowhere. Narrowing down this list to three major goals will help you organize your day better, stay focused and get the most important off your list. Habits take a while to form and require repetition. But these rituals are guaranteed to help you reach those goals no matter how difficult they may seem at first.