Performance Appraisal: A death sentence or a means to do better
I remember my first ever performance appraisal calendar invitation and the 35-page document I was asked to fill out before the chat with my manager. I can tell you for a fact that I had a mini heart attack upon receipt of that email; primarily because I was convinced that I would complete that document and still get fired. Recent trends, however, include a less formalized process focused on more feedback and coaching, rather than a time-consuming paper trail. This article debunks the myth that performance appraisals are a death sentence and provides you with tips on how to measure performance in an effective way. Performance appraisals include setting clear and specific performance expectations for each employee and providing periodic informal and/or formal feedback about employee performance relative to those stated goals. A well-structured performance appraisal should do the following: Provide adequate feedback to each person on his or her performance Serve as a basis for modifying or changing behaviour toward more effective working habits Provide data to managers with which they may judge future job assignments and compensation. There is a great deal of evidence to show how useful and effective performance appraisal is to any employer. If your appraisal system does not serve any of the functions listed above, then these tips will be of great value to your team. Effective goal setting This is a process of establishing objectives to be achieved over a period of time. It is the performance criteria an employee will be evaluated against keeping in mind that each goal should align with the organization’s goals. Types of goals include: a. Job description goals: Goals expected to be accomplished continuously until the job description changes. b. Activity goals: These goals may be based on the achievement of a project or objective. They may be set for a single year and changed as projects are completed. c. Personal development goals: Goals can be based on certain behaviors. These goals are expected to be accomplished continuously. Behavioral goals are “how” things need to be accomplished. d. Stretch goals: Goals that are especially challenging to reach and usually used to expand the knowledge, skills, and abilities of high-potential employees. In addition to the above, effective goals should be Specific, Realistic, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound. Most importantly, both managers and team members should be involved in the development of goals to ensure understanding and commitment. Goals should be documented, available for review, and managed continuously by providing regular feedback. Goals should be flexible enough to account for changing conditions. Feedback! An effective performance review process should include a feedback process that is continuous and timely throughout the review period so that team members know how they are performing and what is expected. Also, there should be a process for acknowledging the outcomes of the performance review process (checklist) that is documented between the manager and the employee. Regular one-on-one sessions that allow for feedback, coaching and mentorship cannot be overemphasized. I would recommend using collaborative tools that allow for transparency, keeping information in one place, scheduling regular calls and tracking progress. Tools such as Slack, Google Calendar, Google Docs/Sheets, Trello and Zapier. Include the Performance Improvement Plan Many employees see this as a step to getting fired but what I see this to be is a progressive discipline process regarding performance level, a guide to improvement and an opportunity to do even better than before. The first step in planning a PIP chat involves creating a document used to guide the process. This will help in facilitating performance discussions, recording areas of concern and ways to correct them, and serve as legal and decision-making documentation. The format of the PIP should contain the following components: a. Employee information.b. Employment start datesc. Description of performance discrepancy/gap.d. Description of expected performance.e. Description of consequences.f. Action points and timelines for reviewg. Signatures of the manager and the employee. Some of the most common problems with appraisal systems these days include: a. Lack of top management supportb. Perception of the process as time-consuming “busywork”c. Failure to communicate clear and specific goals and expectationsd. Lack of consistent and constructive feedback Oftentimes, the performance review process can be viewed as uncomfortable, unfair and uninspiring. In order to improve the fairness factor and ensure employees accept the feedback, managers must accept that we all have a role to play when it comes to the overall performance of the organization. There are intentional and unintentional biases inherent in appraisals and being aware of them and training managers may be useful in dealing with some of them.
When it comes to money, A Little Extra goes a long way
Most of the time, the people we think are extraordinary are actually quite ordinary. The difference in most cases is the discipline and consistency they’ve applied to achieve their goals. This includes millionaires. Rolling your eyes already? Well just listen, I’m going somewhere with this. The Book “Everyday Millionaires” by Chris Hogan sheds a bit more light on this. While doing the research for this book, Mr. Hogan assessed more than 10,000 people whose net worth was over $1 million, and what was interesting is that most of these people were pretty ordinary folk that applied these two qualities to their money habits. The outcome of his research was in contradiction to most of the perceptions held by Americans about millionaires. Contrary to popular belief, only 3% of the millionaires he studied had received an inheritance at, or above $1 million. Actually, the vast majority of the millionaires he studied did not get any inheritance at all. It turned out that most of them held ordinary jobs – they were teachers, farmers and lawyers. No fancy titles! No fancy education! Just simple ordinary folk. Mr. Hogan found that these “ordinary people” who had built wealth over time had focused on these four things to achieve their financial goals: Taking Responsibility The people who participated in the study were driven by the fact that they are solely in charge of their financial destinies. They realised that they could not depend on the government, their employers or their families to attain financial independence. Practicing Intentionality This category of people recognized that how they live and the decisions they make daily have a direct impact on their financial independence. As such, 94% of them lived below their means and 95% of them planned ahead and saved for big expenses compared to 67% of the general population. Being Goal-Oriented The men and women who participated in this study had a vision of their future lives and consequently put the necessary plans in place to get them to this desired future. This vision helped to steer them everyday, to keep them working towards their goals. This vision restrains them from buying the next shiny object that comes into the market. Being Consistent Consistency is what brings it all together. Day by day, month on month, year on year the participants in the study invested a portion of their income, saved a portion of their income and stuck to the budgets they created. They put in the relevant mechanisms to ensure this happens on a monthly basis. Seems easy, doesn’t it? It’s easy to say that this is an American based study and is therefore not applicable in the African context. But in my opinion, this could not be further from the truth. I am sure that each of us knows or has heard of ordinary people who hold ordinary jobs in our own communities, yet have excelled financially. To drive the point even further home, some of these people we know or have heard of, do not have a formal education. Isn’t it amazing what discipline, consistency and commitment can do for your financial goals? We unnecessarily complicate financial matters by getting entangled in jargon and “big investments” we do not understand. In the quest to obtain wealth, some of us even end up getting caught up in ponzi schemes. You can start small. Develop a budget. Live within your means. Make sure you save a portion of the income you make. Invest only in things you understand. Have a financial plan. Just a little extra discipline, goes a long way!
Want to do business with the United States from Africa? DO NOT MISS THIS VIRTUAL SUMMIT
Over the years, the United States Government has funded a number of agencies and platforms to support African companies to do business with both the U.S. government itself and with the U.S. private sector. To provide more clarity on ways in which the U.S. can assist in growing African businesses and entrepreneurs through trade, investment, and technical assistance, Africa.com is organising a one-day Virtual Summit – if you are a Motherland Mogul looking to expand your business into the United States, this is not the one to miss! This Virtual Summit will bring thousands of c-suite executives and decision-makers of African businesses together with high ranking U.S Government and business officials. It will be held on Wednesday the 14th of October 2020 with the following panel sessions: Register for The Virtual Summit Here Panel 1: View From The Very Top The Summit kicks off with keynote remarks by the highest-ranking U.S. government official responsible for relations with Africa, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, The Honorable Tibor Nagy. Then, the Chairman of the U.S. President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (President and CEO of GE Africa) Farid Fezoua, will deliver keynote remarks from the private sector perspective. Panel 2: Hear It From The Agency Heads A panel discussion featuring the Chief Operating Officer of Prosper Africa, a new U.S. government initiative that brings together the resources of over 17 U.S. Government agencies to connect the U.S. and African businesses with new buyers, suppliers, and investment opportunities. Joining this panel are the ‘Africa heads’ of some of the key U.S. Government agencies that do business with Africa, including the International Development Finance Corporation (formerly OPIC); The Export/Import Bank; USAID; and the U.S. Africa Development Foundation. Panel 3: Hear It From African Business Heads The third portion of the summit is a panel of very senior African business leaders who have done business with the U.S., who will provide their perspectives on their experiences and guidance to those who seek to follow their footsteps. Panel 4: Views From Ambassadors Country-by-Country The fourth portion of the summit is a panel of U.S. Ambassadors to several key African countries who will speak about the resources available specifically in their markets to support African businesses. This event is free so don’t miss this opportunity to take your business international! Register for The Virtual Summit Here
“Excitement Alone Cannot Keep Your Business Running”- Abigail Alade, Spawn Ideal Founder
Abigail started Spawn Ideal to tackle the problem of youth unemployment in Nigeria. Since 2008, she has been on this journey of twists and turns and has encountered some challenges and successes. However, the challenges have not deterred her from her goal- which is to train as many youths as she can and help them operate their businesses with an entrepreneurial mindset. As she said, We are trying the solve the problem of youth unemployment. We believe that today in Nigeria, the number of white-collar jobs available is not equal to the number of graduates we churn out each year. We are trying to develop a platform in the educational sector to decrease that margin. In this piece, Abigail Alade talks about her journey with Spawn Ideal and gives valuable insights on running a business. Passionate about learning vocational skills? Keep up with Abigail on Instagram What inspired you to start your business? When I was in OAU, we had strikes that would keep us at home for four to six months. During one of these strikes, I went to volunteer with an NGO that works in capacity building specifically with young adults. After my experience there, I decided to form an organization to contribute to young people’s development. After school, I wanted to launch it as a non-profit but then there were challenges with funds so I decided to work with a corporate organization for some time to expose me to possible networks and help me make some money. So I was a banker for some time but soon enough I had to make the hard decision to let go of the job to face my passion. How did working for a corporate organisation impact your business? The exposure I had gotten from working in a corporate organization made me realise that I could make it into a for-profit business. This way, I could empower young people and still make revenue. I believe that teaching children vocational skills early helps them set the pace for their lives. Like I said, most graduates look for jobs unsuccessfully for four to five years before going to learn a skill. If these children are being introduced to vocational skills from a young age, it becomes part of them and they are more likely to excel in it unlike people who learned as adults. Right now we operate in Ile-Ife, Osun state. What are some of the challenges you currently face at Spawn Ideal? In Ile-Ife, finding man-power has been a challenge. Unlike most tailors and carpenters who work with apprentices in their shops, we operate as a school. So we want people that can teach not just the skill but also the business side of it. Our students need those skills on how to run and grow a business so we need skilled people who can speak good English, preferably even graduates with vocational skills. That has been hard to find in an area like Ile-Ife. Funds are also a big issue because the way we want to expand, requires a lot of funds. We need to get so many equipment and that costs a lot of money. We started small and we are growing gradually. What is your vision for Spawn Ideal? In the next two years, I plan to have trained 200,000 youth through schools. We go to schools and train students in schools so in that way we get numbers. After the lockdown is over, we would resume the drive so that we can reach lots of young people. We are also working on having a mobile app so that even though we can’t reach some people physically, we can reach them online. In five years, we want to expand to universities and train them in an entrepreneurial way. So regardless of what you studied in school, you can apply an entrepreneurial mindset to it and instead of waiting for job, be a job creator. What advice do you have for people who want to start a business of their own? With any business or passion you want to pursue, you have to be tenacious. The issue most of us have is that we are so excited when we have great ideas but the truth is that excitement alone can not keep your business running. There are challenges that you are going to face but being tenacious and resilient will keep you going. Try to do something every day that gets you closer to your goal. Things are going to get tough sooner or later and it may feel like you are not achieving much but work at something everyday, no matter how small. Do your research to be sure that this is what you want to do. You do not want to start a business without doing research or knowing the possible challenges and setbacks. If you start a business unprepared, you may not be able to withstand the challenges that come with running that business.
“I LEFT THE USA TO PURSUE MY PASSION IN NIGERIA.” MEET UGOCHI NWOSU, FOUNDER OF RELIANCE CLINICS
Not everyone owns up to their purpose especially when it takes you from one continent to another. Ugochi left the United States to pursue purpose in Nigeria. Ugochi is the founder of Reliance Clinics. She’ll be sharing insights into her life as a medical practitioner, health tips, the numerous challenges she faced and how she was able to overcome them. Who is Ugochi Nwosu? I was born in Nigeria and lived there until I was 7 before my family immigrated to the United States. That was where I did all my schooling. After my undergraduate degree, I did my residency training in the States also until I returned back to Nigeria in 2019. This kick-started my goal to start a business that provided quality private healthcare services. What are you passionate about? Healthcare! I really want to live in a world where everyone has full access to adequate healthcare. In Nigeria, the rate at which people in their early 40s and 50s die is really alarming. All of these can be avoided. I just want to help people live healthy and productive lives where they get to see their grandchildren and even great-grandchildren. Although this would be beautiful, it’s not easy. If people want to live till their late 80s, it starts from now. So, I want to keep educating people about this. What ignited the spark to start Reliance Clinics? For me, the inclination to work in healthcare came since my undergraduate studies. I learnt about the possible challenges, the requirements and mapped out the areas to make an impact. It was important to be properly grounded in what I was planning to do to avoid making any silly mistakes. I also worked with a whole lot of NGOs to ensure I had a feel of what I was about getting myself into. I didn’t really plan to start a business for myself. The decision to do that came after I kept searching for an NGO to work with but couldn’t find any at that point. This made me start looking for other possible opportunities. During my residency training, I met people who were interested in digital healthcare services and connected with them. They encourage me to just do what I need to do because no one makes actual change by talking and observing. It was great for me because I didn’t see myself as someone that could take up that level of responsibility upon myself. The plan had always been to work for someone who was already doing the things I needed to do. That’s basically how the business came alive. How was the startup phase of your business? I’m not going to deny the fact that everything was new to me. Firstly, we had to scout for a suitable location, then we had to figure out a way to get supplies for the clinic and basically test these supplies yourself because everything had to be reliable 100%. For funding, I met the founders of a health insurance company during my residency training so things sort of worked out for me in the sense that they needed a trusted clinic that they could send patients to so they kind of gave me the initial funding for the clinic. What business challenges have you faced and how have those challenges shaped your mindset? One major challenge has been hiring and training staff. For those in healthcare, the quality of services offered has to be nothing but excellent. Most times, doctors, pharmacists, nurses etc expect some things to be done in some certain way based on what they’ve seen before or something which might not necessarily be the right thing. When you tell this category of people that there’s a standard that should be met and we’re not going to overlook that standard just because we’re operating in Nigeria, it turns into a situation where it feels like you’re telling them that they’re not properly trained or something so that was a major challenge for me. Another challenge we had, in the beginning, was dealing with patients and staff who were used to things being done in certain ways and then we do them in totally different ways. For instance, most patients that come to our clinic are used to being given so many drugs even for not so serious cases. When we give them just 1-2 drugs, they feel like we’re not treating them the right way or we don’t really care about their wellbeing which is why we’re given them little amounts of drugs and that’s not the situation at all. What have you learned so far from running this business? When it comes to hiring, you have to ensure that those people actually have the skills they claim to possess. It’s mandatory that you do. I’ve learnt over time that you have to be very intentional when deciding who to bring on board, how to evaluate their skills and how to train them so that from day 1, they can actually deliver. Ugochi is a participant in the High Growth Coaching Program 2020. Catch up on her business journey on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
“At the age of 12, I was already selling.” Meet Feligold Food and Spice owner, Felicia Ogumah
Felicia Ogumah is the brains and strength behind Feligold Food and Spices, a food company based in Warri, Delta State that began in October 2019. They package and sell food items like dry fish, crayfish, prawns, melons and local spices. Felicia’s business skill is something that has been cultivated since childhood. She says, “I grew up selling. At the age of 12, I was already selling. I think it is something that is a part of me. My friends tell me ” Feli there is nothing you can not sell. Even if they package stick and give you, you will sell.” This article covers Felicia’s experiences running Feligold food and spice and valuable lessons you can take away from it. Warning: Checking Felicia’s Facebook and Instagram page, will make you buy something. What is the inspiration behind Feligold Food and Spice? It, first of all, came as an insight, an inspiration from God. When I first started, it was something I really just wanted to do with everything that I have and am. God was stirring it in my heart to do it and so far it has been very profitable. God has been involved in the sourcing to get my products. I had no level of experience, I had no one putting me through, I did not go for any offline or even online training on Food and Spice. Divine connection came in. God was strategically connecting me to people. In fact, I am amazed! [bctt tweet=”If it is just crayfish you want to sell, put all your effort into selling that crayfish. Don’t jump into doing everything at once. Pick one thing and try to get the best out of it before moving to something else.” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] How do you manage Feligold Food and Spice? For now, we ship to Benin, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Anambra. We have even shipped to a customer in Europe. That particular customer contacted me through Instagram. In fact, I get most of my customers online. The lockdown affected us because most of my clients are outside Delta State. When the roads were eventually opened, the cost of the way-bill was high. Doing business right now is not the way it was before the virus. I pray everything goes back to normal” [bctt tweet=”If you choose to do something, let it be something people identify you with because you are passionate about what you are doing.” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] From her business experience with Feligold Food and Spice, Felicia has three major business tips. Have a good reason for starting your business. Don’t go into the food business only because you think it is something that must sell. Everybody is into food business now. You have to have a passion for it and know why you started. It is important to know your why! Be focused. If it is just crayfish you want to sell, put all your effort into selling that crayfish. Don’t jump into doing everything at once. Pick one thing and try to get the best out of it before moving to something else. Be known for something. Let people know you for something. If you choose to do something, let it be something people identify you with because you are passionate about what you are doing.
“My Goals Define Who I Am.” Meet Ayomiposi Ogunti, Founder of Ideabud
Your goals are the key to success in your career or your business. As you get closer to achieving your goals, the chances of truly finding yourself increase immensely because you’re constantly breaking barriers and getting to know who you truly are. “My goals define who I am!” Ayomiposi isn’t taking chances when it comes to achieving the impossible. She’s the founder of IdeaBud and is breaking boundaries in her business. Who is Ayomiposi Ogunti? I’ve lived in Lagos almost all my life till I went to the University Of Ilorin for my tertiary education. Before I started Ideabud, I had worked with two management consulting firms as a research analyst and a team lead for performance monitoring and evaluation. I did this for a while before deciding to start my own business. I’m really passionate about people’s development as regards their careers and personal growth. I’m also passionate about entrepreneurship and creativity. One thing about me is I get excited about new things. It could even be something old that’s done in a new and refreshing way. What ignited the spark to start IdeaBud? Deep down, I always wanted to help people bring their ideas to life. No matter how scary or tasking those ideas are. I just enjoy helping people out with whatever it could be. People would always say, “Ayomiposi has the answers!” After numerous conversations with top executives, colleagues, friends and the likes, I discovered that most people had brilliant ideas but couldn’t bring it to life. They were always stuck at the implementation stage. I saw a void and decided to fill it. The heart of IDEABUD is passion. Let’s track back a little since I started working with corporate organizations, I had always wanted to see people excel in their respective fields and businesses. Not everyone has the luxury of time to monitor a project from the startup phase until it gains ground and becomes something spectacular. This is where my passion comes in. What business challenges have you faced and how have those challenges shaped your mindset? Most businesses that operate in the field of consultation experience a very similar challenge which is getting clients. Without clients, a business cannot operate. You can discuss with clients over and over only for them to change their mind when you think the project is 95% ready to kick off. Another challenge I’ve faced is how to create content to drive IDEABUD. This might appear like a minor issue but it was a major stumbling block. The thing with consulting is you have to be careful how you project your content to your audience because it tends to become technical rather than relatable. It got to the point where I needed to take a step back and reevaluate the situation of my business and map out ways I could reach out to people better. It was during this evaluation stage I came across a guide from SheLeadsAfrica’s Facebook page about storytelling. It really helped me in so many ways. These challenges have helped Ideabud become a business that people can actually relate to. It put us on a path to being the best at what we do. What have you learned so far from running this business? I learnt at the early stage that establishing a standard operating procedure goes a really long way. This procedure has served as a guideline for me when dealing with clients, because, before then, I just dealt with clients as the spirit led. It really messed up a whole lot of things for me and the client. So, you should always have a standard operating procedure that helps you identify what needs to be done at specific points in time. Ayomiposi is a participant in the High Growth Coaching Program 2020. Catch up on her business journey on Instagram and LinkedIn.
The Ideal Startup Employee
In the 1950s, the average age of a company on the S&P 500 index was 60. Today, that number is less than 18. This just means that the most successful corporations are growing three times faster than they have in the past. To succeed at this rate of rapid change, employees and business leaders in start-ups have had to adapt by adopting growth mindsets, learning new skills, and embracing flexibility. In this article, I will be sharing some valuable tips that make you stand out as an exceptional startup employee. It takes a certain type of personality to want to work at a startup . So just before you submit that resume, take a moment to compare your assets to these must-have traits below: 1. Adopting the Idea Generator personality Most business owners value employees who are able to take it upon themselves to do some exploring on their own, generate, develop, and communicate new ideas while figuring out solutions to difficult challenges. This involves taking ownership and wearing the hat of a divergent thinker. Come up with many ideas, select the best idea (or ideas) and work to implement the idea and put it into practice frequently. 2. Thriving in organized chaos The best way to describe a startup is as fragile as a newborn baby. Some days, you wake up and realize, “What we’re building isn’t actually scalable.” The immediate reaction to this would be to change things immediately. The best startup employees not only understand this but are ready to adapt to new changes alongside helping you spot issues along the way for the improvement of the whole. 3. Adapt to changing processes As times change, processes change too. What that means is, you have to not expect things to always be set in stone in a startup. Obviously, the goal for these sorts of organizations is to find the ideal standards and build processes and best practices that scale and age well. Most of all, the ideal employee just understands when things need to change at a moment’s notice and be willing to run and sprint with it. 4. Look beyond the formal job responsibilities When you’re working in a startup environment, there is a never-ending list of things that can be done. On some days, my to-do list ranges from “in the weeds” tasks like prospective candidate follow-ups, vendor follow-ups and training new employees. Juggling multiple tasks can be extremely mentally tasking, however, the great startup employees realize they are building their “future role” at the company and beyond so they take it upon themselves to not only get their own work done, and done exceptionally well, but find other ways to check things off the company’s to-do list– even if it means being a salesperson for an hour. 5. Don’t measure your value between the hours of 9 to 5 In order to be a valuable addition to a fast-growing startup, you have to be fine with the fact that your day won’t always start right at 9:00 AM and end the moment the clock hits 5:00 PM. Some days will start earlier than normal and other days will go late. Some weekends, you’ll even find that you want to get some work done yourself so that you don’t have a crazy week ahead. In a startup, you typically have more freedom, but with that freedom comes with high expectations of exponential value. 6. Replace short-term rewards for the longer-term payoff It is common knowledge that building something great takes time. It’s also amazing to hear people say, “I was one of the pioneer staff at Uber,” or, “I was part of the first 20 at Microsoft.” In society, these early employees are praised and idolized almost just as much as the founders. If you want to be part of that pioneer group though, you have to really come to terms with the fact that none of those early employees signed themselves up for a “job.” Most of them believed in the vision. They wanted to be part of the building process and bring the founder’s vision to life. 7. Be intellectually curious and willing to learn Working in a startup can be hard because almost everything you do is the “first time.” You’re constantly in exploration mode, which means you’re probably going to be fumbling in the dark for a while. A great startup employee thrives in this sort of high learning environment. They take it upon themselves to do some learning on their own without management having to necessarily push you. Independently identify resources needed to improve on existing skills. Every day is a fire-fighting day for a startup. I have come to realize that both large and small companies will invest in team members who are ready to adapt to change with an intense sense of ownership over their responsibilities, and often beyond them as well. Be ready to bring something new to the table on a daily basis!
“Your Skin Is A Priority” Meet Adi + Bolga Co-Founder Oluwaferanmi Ogundipe
If you meet Feranmi, you may wonder, “why does she love skincare so much? What is it about skincare that makes her tick?” Feranmi’s love for skincare stemmed from her personal battle with acne some years ago. During our conversation, she said, “I wasn’t one to have acne and at one point I had terrible acne and everyone was like “Feranmi, what is going on with your skin?” Struggling with acne or other skin conditions? Download the Adi + Bolga app to get skin care advice and solutions today! I remember walking into pharmacies to ask for a solution and they couldn’t quite give me guidance. I remember going back and asking a new friend that I just met because I saw that she had some insight into skincare and she said, “I think you have combination skin and you should get a gel cleanser.” I got the gel cleanser and just that small tip from her made my life so much easier. My co-founder and have had this type of experience so we said why don’t we just create something for skincare that will help people out?” “Your skin is a priority” Feranmi believes that skincare is a necessity for every person. That is one of the guiding ideas for the platform she and her co-founder are working tirelessly to create. However, she acknowledges that different reasons- a major one being money, keeps us from making our skincare a priority. Adi + Bolga plans to help out with this by creating a budget-friendly system for buying skincare products. As Feranmi said, “we are trying to see if we can help people pay in installments for some of the products because not everyone can afford to buy all of the products they need at once. This will really be for those who have serious problems with acne or other skin care conditions.” Adi + Bolga has just launched its platform, BARE to help you navigate the confusing chatter around skincare, particularly for black men and women anywhere in the world, through virtual consultations and accurate product matching to skin type and skin conditions. On their platform, you can get a skin analysis, product recommendations, and a clear plan on how to use them. Adi + Bolga is also the parent company of Bare the Community, an interactive online community for skincare lovers. On there, they share stunning skincare content and offer great advice and product recommendations for different skin types and conditions. What you can learn from Feranmi’s business experience Know your why: Your goal should be at the forefront of your mind. Be clear on your why. Know what you are in that space to do. This will guide the skills you decide to learn to run your business well. This will also guide the kind of strategies you put in place for your business. Listen to your customers: Sometimes, people reach out to us for product recommendations and the product we may want to recommend is not within their budget or easily accessible in their location. This lets us know how best we can serve our audience. It may now lead to questions like, do we look for cheaper or more accessible products to recommend? Do we contact the brand to find out if they can make their product accessible to our audience? Make your services clear: It is important to make your services clear and understandable to the people you are trying to serve. One of our main challenges is getting people to understand that our service is new. It is not common. We are introducing a new idea to the public and it is always a challenge getting them to understand what we do and why it is beneficial. Let’s say I develop a cream, that will be easy to sell because everybody understands what cream is and what cream should do. I can easily push that but a beauty tech platform is different. It is a very new idea so I need to make sure our services are clear. You can join the Adi+Bolga community by following Bare the Community on Twitter and Instagram. For more juicy skincare tips sign up for their newsletters.
“Pay Attention To What You Eat!” Meet Patience Bature, CEO Parkea Ventures
Most times, we can’t really determine what life has in store for us. Some people already know how the next few years of their lives would go but all of that could change with one experience. Patience is the CEO of Parkea ventures. She’s proud of how she’s been able to juggle life as a mother, wife and business owner. Who is Patience Bature? Watching my mum handle food-related businesses sparked my interest in business which grew as I got more involved. After school, my siblings and I had to assist her at the shop so there wasn’t any room for laziness. You always had to be engaged. So I’d say my childhood was really engaging! There was always something to do. Seeing the effects of years and years of hard work on my mum made me stop to think and reevaluate things. It gave me an idea, so I switched my focus towards general well-being and why we need to be intentional about the food we eat. What ignited the spark to start Parkea ventures? I needed to find the perfect cereal for my baby who was fast approaching the stage where he had to stop breastfeeding. I tried various products but none was able to keep him satisfied till the next morning. This pushed me to carry out research and I discovered something golden. I was able to create a formula that had numerous nutrients which were perfect for my baby. After making the switch to this formula, I noticed that he slept better. He didn’t wake up at intervals like he used to. I just had to recommend it to my friends who were also nursing mothers. Let’s just say it was a long chain of recommendations, my friends recommended me to other mothers and it went on and on until I could no longer produce at home. Even a doctor got to find out about the formula and requested for a batch. That was how the business itself started. What business challenges have you faced and how have those challenges shaped your mindset? My first challenge was moving from producing in my home to producing in an actual factory. It wasn’t easy getting used to that switch at all. Secondly, we had to approach a commercial factory for production and it’s been affecting our profit margin. The more we discover new products from the archer grain, the more the business grows which demands more from us and that could be tasking. Thirdly, it’s been difficult to get the necessary equipment that would help increase product range. This leads us to the last challenge which has been funding. It hasn’t been easy getting the funds for this business. I can see there’s a potential market for it. I just need to find creative ways to tap into it. I’ve been able to learn from all those challenges that it’s okay to fail and experience difficulties because that’s the only way to truly grow. I could work with smallholder farmers to fight the issue of scarcity which would protect me from various market factors. Giving up is not an option. What have you learned so far from running this business? Entrepreneurship is war but the customer is key. This means that everything should always revolve around your customers. This has helped me develop patience. I fully understand that life is filled with challenges and we just have to keep striving till we’re able to achieve all our set goals. How have you been able to balance life as a mother, a wife and a business owner It’s not been a very easy ride. The funny thing is I’ve always been into business. Till this day, I’ve never worked as a staff for anyone and I intend to keep it that way. The best part about this is I married a man who really understands my goals. He’s very supportive so it’s easy for me to handle all of these without any hassles. Patience is a participant in the High Growth Coaching Program 2020. Catch up on her business journey on Facebook.