4 things you can learn about branding from Yemi Alade
Yemi Alade does not need any introduction. Raise your hand if you start singing the words to “Johnny” anytime you meet someone called John. For some of us, it is difficult to remember how Yemi Alade was before the Johnny era. The mere mention of her name conjures up a certain image. That is her brand. Since rebranding herself, Yemi Alade has reached new heights of stardom with fans across Africa and beyond. She has a lot to teach us about branding. 1. Find a style that is yours… A successful brand is a brand that is unique. When you’re building your brand, first things first is discovering what you are doing that others in your industry aren’t. What makes you special and different from everyone else? You may need to add some colour and give your brand a personality that everyone will remember. Yemi Alade’s edgy sense of fashion just stands out. She has emerged with unique and quirky styles that immediately jump at you. Yemi Alade has described herself as a fashion chameleon, her style is at once easy, simple and edgy. When it comes to fashion, no one else in the Nigerian entertainment industry is doing what Yemi Alade and so effortlessly too. 2…then stick to it Let’s talk about hair. When you think of Yemi Alade what hairstyle is she rocking? The “pineapple” hair-do has become Yemi Alade’s signature. She has worn it in different colours and added little variations to it along the way. Others might consider sticking to one hairstyle boring yet, a branding essential is consistency. You have to be consistent in what you do and/or offer. Consistency reinforces the value of your brand. Yemi Alade has been consistent with her pineapple hairstyle and it links back to her style as being part of her overall brand. 3. Show off your best work When building a successful brand ladies, you’ll have to pay attention to positioning. Once you have put a message out there you must avoid changing it easily. Otherwise you risk confusing your customers. Pay a visit to Yemi Alade’s Twitter page and right there you will see #Johnny. This is a very important branding strategy. “Johnny” is Yemi Alade’s most successful hit yet and by putting it on her page, she is ensuring that anyone who is a fan of the song will associate it with her. In this way, “Johnny” is now part of her brand, more so than other songs she has released. Using your best work is a great strategy for branding. 4. Don’t be afraid to venture into unknown territory In finding out what makes your brand unique, you may need to push yourself. Think outside the box, be innovative and bold, be daring and most importantly make sure you are standing for something you believe in. For me, one more things comes to mind when I think of Yemi Alade; multilingual. She sang a French remix of “Johnny” and brought on a popular French zouk artist for a remix of “Kissing”. Going further she released a Swahili version of “Na Gode”. Yemi Alade has taken her brand to entirely new levels by speaking to audiences in their own languages. Her brand communicates with fans across borders, something that the only most successful brands accomplish. What else do you think aspiring #MotherlandMoguls can learn from Yemi Alade? Kindly let us know in the comments section below.
Yasmin Says: How to make your network your net worth
We’ve all heard the phrase “Your network is your net worth.” And though, it may seem like one of those cheesy phrases that’s only appropriate for fridge door magnets and tacky self-help books, its 100% true. For young entrepreneurs like us, networking is especially important for a couple of reasons: As you grow your network, you’ll hear more and more about interesting and unique opportunities It’s a good opportunity for you to practice your communication skills There are a number of different ways to network but today, we’re going to focus on how to #WIN at a formal networking event. Formal networking events are tough for us because both Afua and I are true introverts. So, even the thought of having to spend an evening talking to people we don’t know exhausts us. That said, sometimes, it’s got to be done. So, it’s best to be prepared. Come with a game plan You’ll never have a chance to speak to everyone, and if you’re able to preview the guest list before hand, come with a clear list of the people you’d like to speak to. If Afua and I are going to a conference, we’ll do more than come up with a target list. We’ll also prioritize the list so we have people who we MUST connect with vs. people who’d be nice to chat to. Once we have that list, we create a spreadsheet with these key pieces of information. 1. A few points on the person’s background Knowing a little bit about them will make it easier for you to strike up conversation. I was at a conference two years back and really wanted to meet the CEO of a large African bank. I did a bit of research and found out that he’d given a really interesting talk on Gender Equality. So when I went up to introduce myself to him, I opened with “Hi Mr. X, my name is Yasmin. I watched your talk at XYZ about gender equality and found it so inspiring.” And on the conversation went. 2. Why we’d like to speak to them It’s important to be clear (if possible) on why you’d like to talk to someone. It helps you steer the conversation in the right way and tailor your pitch appropriately. So, if I’d like to speak to someone about being a pitch competition judge, I’ll start off talking about our awesome pitch competition, the other judges we’ve had and how much fun those judges had. If I’m talking to someone about sponsoring our event, I’ll focus more on talking about the SLA community – growing it is. See the difference? PS: This isn’t being disingenuous. It’s just understanding that people care about different things and so making sure that you’re emphasizing the part of your business that they’re most likely to care about. Hang out by the food table If you don’t feel comfortable introducing yourself to people, try hanging out by the food table. Food is always a great conversation starter. If you see someone picking up that lovely mini cupcake you just tried, go up to them and say, “Those cupcakes are absolutely amazing. You should definitely try one. O … I’m Yasmin by the way. Nice to meet you. What’s your name?” And voila! You’ve struck up a conversation in a non-awkward and relaxed manner. Ask questions Most people think that networking is all trying to impress people with your amazing accomplishments. But it’s just as important to listen to other people and try to learn more about them. Not only is it polite but the more you learn about someone, the more likely you are to find interesting ways that they could be helpful to you and your business. I was at a conference once and struck up a conversation with a guy who worked in PE – his deals were all Europe-focused so there wasn’t that much in common with SLA. But after chatting for a few minutes, he mentioned that his wife sat on the board of an organization that we’d desperately been trying to reach out to! Now, you see if I’d spent the whole time blabbing to him about myself, I may never have found out about this awesome connection. Go for the number 2 Here’s a scene I see at networking events all the time. Important woman or man arrives and everyone swarms him/her, jockeying to get a word in, shoving cards in his/her face, begging for his/her card. Important man/woman is overwhelmed, a little uncomfortable and frankly doesn’t see individuals, instead he/she just sees a mass of overly eager faces. When this happens DO NOT join them. Here’s a little trick I’ve learnt. Look around for the people that this person arrived with. It might be a chief of staff, a PA, a family friend or just a friend. Target that person. Why you ask? Because that person is waaaaay more accessible than important man/woman and yet they have access to important man/woman. So, connecting with them gives you a good chance of securing a (maybe even private) meeting with important man/ woman in the future. More generally, that person may actually be able to teach you a thing or two. After all smart, successful people tend to surround themselves with other smart, successful people. So there you have it! A couple of short tips to help you become ace your next networking event.
How to spot a swag assist
You want to be a boss. You dream of being the type of woman who is on her grind, building an empire and taking no prisoners. Chairman by M.I, I’m a Boss by Rick Ross, and Looku Looku by The Mavins are key songs in the playlist of your life. There’s only one big problem – you think your partner might be a hater, #SwagDeflator – every #MotherlandMogul’s worst nightmare. One of the most critical factors that will impact your professional and entrepreneurial growth is your significant other. Having a partner who supports you is a godsend – their belief in your talents and dreams will have you thinking you’re Oprah 2.0 or the female Dangote-in-waiting. Having a partner who actively blocks your shine is the worst. With this in mind, we, at She Leads Africa, have come up with a few tips to help you spot a partner who will support your #MotherlandMogul swag. They’ll be your very own Swag Assist. 1. Was his mum a hustler? To start, you have to take it all the way to the beginning. Our families and childhoods have a huge influence on what we think our lives should look like when we become adults. If a guy grew up with a mum who was always on her hustle, he’s more likely to see your hustle as normal and ordinary. Additionally, if his mum is a hustler herself, she’s more likely to tell him to chill if he starts complaining too much about your work schedule. This isn’t to say that sons of stay-at-home mums will want you to do the same. But understand that it may take him some time to get used to your hustle. 2. How much gendered language does he use? Any potential partner who uses words like “men’s work” or “women’s work” should raise red flags. To be a #SwagAssist, a guy needs to have his own beliefs about gender norms not what society has told him. He needs to be comfortable sharing the work at home. For example, if you’re running late at the office, he should put the kids to bed. If you have a big meeting the next day and don’t have time to cook dinner, he needs to be fine with that. If your man sees the world in one particular way and thinks that you need to stay in your lane, he’s probably not going to be the Barack to your Michelle. 3. How hard does he try to upgrade you and your business? Beyoncé told the world she wants to upgrade her man, but you should also have someone who wants your business to reach the next level. There are plenty of guys who pay lip service to supporting their partners, but in reality they couldn’t care less. Does your partner think about how their personal and professional networks can help you grow? If they have special skills, do they use them to support you? For example, if he’s a banker has he offered to look at your numbers? A #SwagAssist will energetically try to support your professional aspirations. “Align your partner with your ambition.” –Bola Adesola, MD Standard Chartered Nigeria 4. What does he say when you complain about the hustle? We all have times when nothing seems to be working, and we just want to roll up into the fetal position and give up. Yes, we all want a partner who is occasionally going to baby us and tell us everything is going to be okay. Here’s the thing though, building a business isn’t child’s play and having a partner who is going to let you give up is not helpful if you’re really trying to be a #MotherlandMogul. You need someone who cares about you so deeply that they’ll listen to you complain, but believes in you so much that they force you to get back up. 5. How does he react to your business success? When you’ve just signed a big deal and you tell him, pay attention to his expressions and tone of his voice. Does he give you a weak smile, like kind Yetunde gave her boyfriend when he proposed with an ugly ring? Does he say congrats quickly and then get back to how bad the traffic was in Lekki? If the answer is yes, then you’ve got yourself a certified #SwagDeflator. A #SwagAssist will make it clear that you da real MVP. He will give you Azonto, Shoki and the running man all at the same time. All of his social media followers will know that you just won. He’ll be so excited people will think he won the lottery. That’s the sort of partner you need walking with you on the journey to professional success. Everyone knows that one of the easiest ways to lose a war is to start fighting on two fronts. Just ask any German commander circa early 1940s. It takes a village to raise an entrepreneur – and guess what? Your husband, your bae, your partner, your number 1 is a critical member of that village. We hope you find someone who cares about your professional happiness and success just as much as you do. If you’re married and your guy is a swag deflator, please don’t cite us in the divorce proceedings.