Francisca Onyinye Ogunlade is a car crash survivor who decided to make her second chance at life very impactful and interesting.
She is also known as the “Side Business Queen” because she helps corporate employees leverage their strength to start and grow a profitable side business in 90 days or less.
She is a banker with 12 years experience, a founder of an event tech company and a business coach.
In this interview with Francisca, she talks about surviving a car crash, and how she got into the business of event planning and management.
[bctt tweet=”Your location should not be a hindrance to your dreams. The internet has made life easy” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”]
Having being involved in a car crash, what impact did this have your life and business?
The car crash turned my whole life around. I had two fractures in one leg and also a cranial injury. As if that’s not enough, I had to carry my pregnancy to term on crutches and a cane.
The biggest blow was that I lost the use of one eye – imagine having to be very careful when applying eyeliner because you only have one eye!
This accident taught me that life and business are always full of twists and turns. Sometimes, you lose almost everything (like I almost lost my life) and you are left with deciding either to remain conquered or rise up to fight the storm. For me, I chose to live and live well. I charge you to do same.
From your experience, how can young women maximize their locations?
On July 16, 2017, I changed the narration of the events and wedding industry in the Southwest of Nigeria. My team and I planned and hosted a beauty and bride exhibition, and this event has created so much ripple effect within and outside the many states in Nigeria.
The interesting thing about launching out from your location is that you are probably one of the few people with that idea and boom, you are in the limelight. In the last year too, I created Nigeria’s first events budgeting app on the Google play store (Eftinzz Events and Budget Planner).
All this taught me that your location should not be a hindrance to your dreams. The internet has made life easy. Make your dream clear enough and your location will be your Launchpad.
How do you create a balance between your day job and your business?
I must confess that this has not been a box of chocolate. I had to identify my support system and carry them along with my plans. They are a part of life.
On my part, I had to make some sacrifices which include reducing my social life. Unfortunately, I lost some few friends who couldn’t understand the new direction I was going but we are now on the same page.
What are some key lessons from your journey you’d like others to learn from?
I could never have imagined that I would go through some of the things that I have been through. However, through every experience I learned the following lessons:
- Your scars are your strength
- Your dreams are valid
- You must be crazy enough to believe in your craze
- You are human – it’s okay to ask for help
What advice can you give young ladies building their careers or businesses?
I won’t tell you it will be easy because it won’t be. But the good thing is, even if it is easy, you can do it. Be true to yourself. Never be scared to dream and make sure you live an enjoyable life because your dreams are valid.
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