Some things have to take the back seat: Balancing work + life #SheHiveLagos
Although undoubtedly one of the most fun events of the year, SLA’s SheHive is also one of the most informative gatherings for smart African women. This weekend, the city of Lagos pretty much exploded thanks to #SheHiveLagos. We could wax rhetoric about all the wonderful ways you can achieve some balance, but let’s be real. At the end of the day, you need a way out of those particularly uninspiring mornings where you just want to give up on everything. To help Motherland Moguls shatter glass ceilings across all industries without breaking a sweat, Arese Ugwu, founder of Smart Money Africa, Nimi Akinkugbe, founder & CEO of Bestman Games and Nibi Lawson, founder of The Kinky Apothecary gave the best advice ever. You’ll need to bookmark this! What is balance to you? What does it mean to be able to balance work with life? Arese: I believe in balance but not in the way most people view it. I spent a lot of time in my 20s trying to find balance. But you can’t have it all put together all the time and that’s fine. You should be able to focus on your career and not feel guilty. Learn to live with it. Find out what best works for your lifestyle. Nimi: I have never had total balance in my life. Some things have to take the back seat and that’s totally okay. Don’t knock yourself out on everything. You can’t insist on micro-managing everything. Nibi: Find out how things work with you. Compartmentalize them. Do things at the time you’re able to and when at your best. As busy women, how do you cope with handling personal responsibilities? Arese: There are times when my daughter says, “Mummy, you work too much”. I used to feel bad but I found a way to make her understand that my working hard is tied to the quality of life I am able to provide her. Now, while she’s doing homework, I work. This works for us as we have a routine for homework, conversations and play dates. Nimi: Guilt trips are real. Most times, I’m not able to do school runs but I’ve found a way around that. I decided on 3 days, a week. Support systems are also critical. You need the help of friends, siblings and a spouse (if you have one). My mother-in-law is my greatest support. She kicks in just when I need her. Nibi: I’m not married yet and I feel guilty about not having time for my friends (and weddings). But I find ways around these things. Priority is key. How do you decide on what to prioritize? What models do you make use of? Arese: I think everyone has to learn how to say, ”No”. It’s really that important. If you have to spend all day responding to emails, DMs and tweets, you will never get work done. How then do you pay your bills? I remember being on a board where their expectations for my responsibilities were quite different from mine and of course, I politely declined. Figure out your priorities and focus on them. Nimi: I have a broad picture of what I do. I don’t have idle time. And yes, even my thinking time is planned! I’m definitely not one to attend four weddings and a funeral on a Saturday. It takes a lot to juggle family, friends, business and a career but you can’t sit and worry about how hard it is. You’ve simple got to prioritize. Nibi: My hair business started as a hobby but even as a banker then, I had to decide between the two. You simply have to be courageous enough to decide what you need to do. Looking back at your 20s, what would you have done differently if you knew better? Arese: Maybe I would have gone harder on building my career. Ladies, balance should not exist in your dictionary. Understand that this is a time to build yourself and go hard on yourself. Nimi: Financial knowledge and discipline are very important as a lady in your 20s. Also, develop yourself and don’t wait for things to happen. Nibi: In my 20s, I waited for suggestions on what to do but now, I would say, do you and be focused. How do you manage people’s expectations of who you are with who you really are? What drives your desire for success? Arese: What drives me fundamentally is my child. I want to be successful so I can provide her a better life. And so, I don’t keep friends or people who question my drive and desire for success. Nimi: It’s about purpose. That one thing you love and won’t mind doing for free. Gradually, you would make money out of it. Nibi: I’m driven by success itself and I try to hang around smart and driven women who motivate me to great heights. Final words to Motherland Moguls Arese: If you haven’t found your purpose, that should be your priority right now. You know those issues that make you argue on end? That’s probably your passion. Start thinking of a way to make it work. Your awesome, smart, and lucrative idea isn’t going to achieve itself if you don’t start doing something about how you’d make it happen. Nimi: There is so much abuse of everything these days. So look after yourself, exercise and diet properly. Give back. Have social empathy —think of that one thing you can do to change lives. Nibi: Your health is very important. If you’re not healthy, you can’t be talking of success in business or career. You can’t afford to be ill when there is money to be made. Taking a whole lot on yourself can make you flounder out somewhere along the way.
6 top tips you need to crowd fund well!
When you’re ready to crowd fund, at first, it might seem like a lot of math and very little reward, but that is not always the case. After you read this, you will be one step closer to creating a campaign that will achieve great things. In this article, I will help you pin down some key tips you need to do well in this often techy, jargon-wrapped industry. 1. First, break it down! “What are you doing and who is doing what?” What exactly is your product? Many of us tend to think of the beautiful things we want to create but have no idea how to put pen to paper. And certainly, no idea on how to make it work in a format that fits the crowdfunding world. My suggestion is to break it down into bite size pieces. If you want to be the next JK Rowling, remember she started with just one book. Start with a bite-sized chunk and make sure it is something you are able to do. You have the knowledge and the connections to make it happen! That goes for the campaign as well. Make sure you have the right team around you; everyone has to know exactly what their job is and how that fits into the big picture. For the basic team structure, I recommend as follows: The administrative lead ensures that you get the most out of the chosen crowdfunding platform and keeping with their regulations. The creative director, depending on the platform, may need a campaign video, or snazzy graphics to make campaigns stand out). The logistics lead handles all the costing and shipping of rewards (more on this later). The marketing and communications lead should be two. One for press and influencer marketing, another for social media and community marketing. Yes, you should already have a supportive community of “fans” before you crowdfund. Successful campaigns are coordinated by successful teams. Remember that. 2. “Will your second favourite Aunty support your campaign?” This may seem like a no-brainer because you are passionate about this thing. But don’t forget, only your friends and family can primarily support your campaign. The first 30% of money raised will come from your close, first degree connections. The rest will come from second and third degree connections. If you are even remotely shy/embarrassed about talking about this to the people closest to you, or you know they will disapprove of your efforts, I suggest you save some money and start smaller than you planned to with crowd funding. Crowd funding isn’t for everyone. There isn’t an imaginary crowd living in the cloud somewhere. It is the people you see everyday —your work colleagues, your friends and your family that are going to make or break your campaign. 3. “Build it and they will come” doesn’t work here No matter how much people like you, they tend to like their money just a little bit more. Remember that friendliness counts. We live in a heavily-networked society, so you are going to have to go even further to encourage people to part with their money. Make phone calls, meet people for coffee, drop your product idea into these conversations. Make sure they can hear your voice and they can feel your passion when you are talking about what you want to do. Asking someone out of the blue to support your campaign to create a line of high quality stationery, when they haven’t spoken to you for three months is not smart. If someone did that to you, how likely would you be to support them? P articularly when they have never mentioned stationery in the history of your friendship? 4. Making your rewards count Depending on the type of crowd fund you are aiming for (donations with or without rewards, investment and equity based or debt based), and the platform you are have settled on, you may or may not need to think about rewards. If you are listing your campaign on a reward-based platform, please do your homework. There is a good amount of math involved in this so if that isn’t your strong suit, ask someone for help. There are number of things to consider —shipping costs, printing/manufacture costs, the admin and follow-up time, and whether or not what you are offering is what people want and are willing to part with their money for. Every type of product requires a type of reward that is unique. Try to keep your rewards cost under 15% of your fundraising amount —especially if you are shipping items (check the weight, plan your packaging, know your postage cost). At Do it Now Now, we have a universal perk system. That means we handle all the perks for all of our campaigns. We realised this was a major pitfall for members of the Diaspora in the UK when in came to crowd funding, so we decided to take it off their hands, releasing them to do what they are truly passionate about. 5. Have an open evening. Share your ideas! When we were starting on our journey with Do it Now Now, we had a mini-party that has turned into monthly open evenings. We invite potential advisors who have shown an interest in what we do to join us for coffee. They ask as many questions as they want about our plans, ideals and practices. I suggest you start doing this as early as possible. Invite people who are going to be a benefit to you on your business. Tell them what you are doing and what you think the pros and cons are. Invite them to have their say. Invite them on the journey. Make sure to invite people who have crowd funded before; their insight will be priceless. If you don’t know anyone who has been on this journey before, contact campaigns that are similar to what you want to do and ask to meet them for a coffee separately —most people will oblige you, especially if you are buying! 6. Identify your Mariahs in advance
Celebrating small time business women: 5 lessons for the #MotherlandMogul
“Buy tomatoes!” “Buy your frozen fish!” Where I come from, the voices of women calling out to customers can be heard as early as 7 am. I believe that the local, small scale business woman has a lot to teach young women in cities looking to startup their businesses. Growing up, I took note of how these local business women conduct their businesses, and noticed some habits. Forget stereotypes, they are not weak, they do not whimper and they do not wait for men to feed or clothe them. These women have pull and sway and most of all, they do it to provide education for their children. Here are some of them that have sustained local business women over the years and that you can learn from. 1. Consistency and persistence At many warehouses, vegetable markets or cold rooms, it is not unusual to see women exhibiting highly skilled bargaining powers over produce to purchase at 5 am. Growing up, I had a neighbor who cooked food daily to sell to the early morning crowd. She was always up before 3:30 am. I am amazed at the tenacity, determination and savvy displayed by these small time business women, many of whom are uneducated. The “local” business woman, over the years, builds her customer base by being consistent and persistent even in the face of bad sales and weather. She is there, in the rain and in the sun. Small time business women never take holidays or breaks, even at Christmas! For those who trade in seasonal goods like green vegetables, they go far and wide to source for their goods off season, albeit at a higher cost. I’m not saying you don’t deserve a vacation, but you can learn to be as focused on your trade as the fruit seller at your local market. 2. Trustworthiness My grandmother never heard of a business plan or proposal. Yet, till her death at the ripe age of 103, people gave her money for safekeeping. What’s more, she sent my mother and her sisters to school up to university from the money she made selling farm produce. People came from far to trade with my grandmother asserting her honest dealings as reason. My mom followed in her foot steps, selling garri at the next village and buying dried fish from that village to sell in hers. During her diploma days in school, my mom would fly to Lagos and buy clothes and sell them at the secondary school where she worked. She is still running her business. Now she distributes well refined palm oil. My mom practices the honest business ethic of her mother. Even after changing businesses, she still retained the patronage of her clients. The most popular words about her are “Miss no dey cheat person and she no dey sell fake things”. That’s Nigerian pidgin for, “Miss is honest and sells high quality products.” 3. Customer care With sweet words, smiles and cajoling, local business women can change the minds of their customers. Talk about the art of seduction! (In a non-sexual context of course). Ladies, I am describing a specific woman here, delete the idea of the “market woman” you have in your mind and instead picture this woman. These women start out with greetings, calling the customers either “auntie”, “uncle” or by their names or children’s names and asking them personal questions based on details garnered over time from previous discussions. They listen and file away information for future use. This gives the customer a sense of importance. Some go as far as having the customer’s personal number and calling to just say “hi”. Imagine the lady that sells roasted plantains calling to check in on her customer. It happens! Some women even go out of their way to serve as personal shoppers for the customer if the need arises. Talk about diversification. The local business woma may have never read a book on the art of marketing, but she could probably sell ice to an Eskimo. They probably never heard of customer care, but the have loyal customers spanning years. 4. Sound investments These small time business women may not know of investments but they have savings and assets. They invest their money wisely, from saving in various forms of local thrift savings scheme to buying real gold with resale values. They are also usually involved in property, building and leasing out houses. Better still, majority of them own several houses which they rent out. And all this to ensure that they are investing in something more precious, their children’s education. It is not strange to see a woman whose children are engineers now based abroad, thanks to the money she made from selling akara (Bean cakes) every morning. 5. Information Any local business woman has her ears always open for news concerning her business. Whether it is increase in wholesale prices, new products in the market, fall in prices, customer’s most popular demand, etc. They make sure they’re always in the know. They form tight bonds with their wholesale traders who in turn keep them in the loop. In summary, the small scale business women are the women we should not forget to celebrate today. They are the women on whose backbones some of us have grown and excelled, whose examples we have unconsciously followed. These Motherland Moguls didn’t care to sit down and twiddle their thumbs. They did not let their degrees —or lack thereof, or their social standings or background hinder them. These women who have defined “The African Woman”. I personally celebrate my mother, wife, friend, sister and multi-entrepreneur Patience Irene Omoruyi. Who do you celebrate?
Let’s pitch your business, shall we
A pitch is a 30 seconds monologue of what you do, why you do it, and how your work is innovative or unique. People have short attention spans and busy calendars, so you want to have a clear, brief, and enticing pitch prepared. Your pitch will ensure that you make the most of every opportunity, and present your commitment and yourself in the best light possible. You may be wondering what an elevator pitch is. An “elevator pitch” is a concise,carefully planned, and well-practiced description about your business that your grandmother should be able to understand in the time it would take to ride up an elevator from the 10th floor to the ground. Wherever you are networking; meeting with funders, writing a grant application, or riding an elevator with someone you want to impress, you should have a pitch prepared. To create a pitch, imagine this… You meet Glenda on the 10th floor. Glenda is a potential partner and she asks you about your business, describe it in a way that is unforgettable and stands out. Now, follow these steps. Condense Select 4-8 specific keywords that describe your business. When you select, be authentic and original. Don’t try to be who you are not or use words with unclear meanings. Organize The simpler the sentence, the better. How can you organize your keywords into an idea in the least number of words? Inspire The sentence should remain at the heart of your pitch. However, to effectively engage your audience, start with a brief description of why.This can be useful if the issue you are seeking to address is complicated, the listener will understand why as you explain what you do. Expand (a little) You can add several sentences to your pitch that answer who, what, when, where, why, and how, but remember to be concise. Practice The only way to ensure that your pitch goes smoothly is to practice (a lot). Record yourself while practicing to make sure you’re presenting yourself and your commitment well. Practice with friends, in the end they should be able to echo the key points. Think about the questions people may ask, and prepare your answers. Now, here’s what to do when delivering a pitch. Audience/Objective The first thing you need to do is figure out who you are talking to and what you want them to do for you. Are they potential funders, volunteers, or partners? This will guide your pitch. Problem statement The challenge you intend to address is important, but you shouldn’t dwell on it extensively. Quickly outline the issue, then explain what you are doing about it and why. Competitive advantage Explain the aspects of your commitment that differentiate you from everyone else. Address how your commitment is new, specific, and measurable, and why you are positioned to tackle the challenge your business addresses. A business needs to clarify what sets it apart; its own “purple cow”. Something that is unique in a crowded market. Storytelling Humanize your work. Pick an inspiring and engaging story that supports your pitch, steer clear of jargon, and demonstrate why your commitment matters. Always have stories ready when networking. Next steps You didn’t spend all this time preparing for nothing. Ask for a business card, a follow-up call, or an opportunity to send along more information. Think of a way to continue your engagement after the conversation ends. Always follow up promptly, within three days at most. In conclusion, determine what success looks like to your business and leverage the right communication tools. Small businesses often think they need to be on every social media platform to keep up. Businesses should first define what it considers to be its success; and then pick the tool that best tells this success story. This tool may be a monthly newsletter, a slideshow of impactful images on your website, or a blog post or narrative video that can be shared on Twitter and Facebook. Don’t be caught without your pitch ready!
4 lessons Tiwa Savage taught us on comebacks
It now seems so long ago. Sometime in April, we woke up to a rather unexpected hot-button topic —the messy detail of troubles in Tiwa Savage’s marriage. There were mind-blowing accusations on social media by her estranged husband. A tell-all video from Tiwa was to follow the next day. We already knew the 36-year-old Nigerian pop diva could make any song sound heavenly. But for someone who seemed well put together, we didn’t exactly see this coming. In case you’re one of the handful who hasn’t realized yet, Tiwa has got her groove back and she’s clearly on her grind! I have gleaned from her setback and triumph, 4 hard-hitting truths. They are guaranteed to stick with you for a long time. Challenges have a way cooler purpose than you ever thought. This is probably relative but this attitude is the most important you can develop in life, business or marriage. Seriously, challenges can sneak up on you and make you feel like the worst person alive. The idea is to realize that though it might take a lot of courage to look pain in the eye, it’s best to trust that it is a learning opportunity. If you’ve never had to crack some tough nut, have you really lived? I don’t think so. Know when you’ve had enough… and start talking like Tiwa. Like the message in the ‘If I Start To Talk’ song, off her RED album, maybe it’s time you realized you’ve had enough and started talking. You’ve probably been silent for too long. You don’t have to talk to anyone but an extra set of ears can be very useful. You probably think no one would appreciate, understand or help your plight (I find that pretty rare), but it can be a lifesaver to have someone know your story. Dust yourself off Tiwa’s got some interesting deals and endorsements going on, right now. The most recent and coolest, of course, is her being signed to Jay Z-owned Roc Nation! That’s some great trick for moving on —deliberately re-enact your own story. It makes for good business and helps you avoid having to obsessively dwell on something you cannot help. You can always decide the turning point in your own narrative. It is that moment when everything changes or catalyzes. Play the stingy one if you must Maybe you’ve been doling out cash to that lazy business partner, spouse, friend, family member or people whose link to you, you can’t fathom. No sweat girl, the giver tag to your name is fine. But the broke, unappreciated and unhappy tag is not so fine. If you find yourself in a position to offer help, by all means, do but it should really be worth it.
Victoria Mamza: The boss woman behind the indigenous brand, Wangarau Foods
Victoria Mamza is the young woman tearing up the Lagos hemisphere with her packaged African food brand, Wangarau Foods. The Lagos State University Marketing grad, who can be reached on Instagram and Twitter, loves to experiment with cooking. Having experimented with different business models, Wangarau Foods has evolved into offering to cook to the specification of customers, as well as branding and packaging food items for events. Mercedes Alfa caught up with Victoria, who reminds us aspiring Motherland Moguls how pertinent the ability to identify and exploit a business need is to launch oneself into the market space. What prompted the startup of Wangarau Foods? The inspiration to begin Wangarau Foods came from a neighbour who is a banker. As you know, Nigerian bankers often have crazy schedules and she could hardly find the time to go to the market to shop for food items. I overheard her conversation from my kitchen window about how stressful it was to go to the market after office hours. Right there, it dawned on me that there could be a market for many people like her who as a result of their busy schedules, do not have the time to purchase local items. I, therefore, saw a service I could render, one where hygienic, quality and affordable food items could be delivered to their doorsteps. What are some of the biggest challenges you face running a business in Nigeria? As an entrepreneur in the agro-allied sector, the major challenge is power. If the regularization of power supply can be effected, most of the problems faced by food manufacturers and packagers would be reduced to a minimum. Another challenge is the limitation of funds to set up Wangarau Foods to my ideal vision. Do you run your business using a business model that just works or adapt to different ones at different times? Initially when I started Wangarau Foods, I had just one business model in mind, which was to reduce the lead time in the preparation of food by saving customers the stress of going to the market. Over the last few months, I have had to adopt a few other business models to generate revenue for the company. Currently, I offer to cook to the specification of customers, and also to brand and package food items for events. For a lot of entrepreneurs, certain people have helped groom their businesses in different capacities. Who has had the most significant impact on your business and why? My good friend who happens to be the angel investor in my business has played an invaluable role in the rise of Wangarau Foods. He is a mentor who has not only encouraged me but taught me to be confident in my abilities. Do you have a philosophy you live by and apply to your business? Yes, I do. My philosophy is; “Be passionate about everything you do. Passion gives you a reason to get up in the morning and the energy to burn all the way till midnight”. I know this may sound so cliché but I have found that if you follow your passion and dare to dream, work doesn’t really seem like work. It will not be your job but your happy place. I would also say find the courage to follow your heart and intuition. These have so far, not led me astray. What is the next move for Wangarau foods? Setting up the Wangarau factory is definitely the next major step for us. Which Wangarau food items would go into a yummy concoction rice recipe? My go-to ingredients for concoction rice are Wangarau Foods rice, Wangarau Foods palm oil, Wangarau Foods crayfish, Wangarau Foods dried prawns, Wangarau Foods dried fish and Wangarau Foods cameroon pepper. Tell us what amazing entrepreneurial things women are doing in your communities here
Noluvuyo Cakwebe: There’s much more to fashion designing than fabric cutting
When thinking about a fashion degree, the popular career choice would be being a fashion designer or seamstress. But there are many more than that. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be unpicking this industry along with its various career options. I’ll be shedding a little light on each career option in this industry. I ‘e-met’ (met over email) Noluvuyo Cakwebe earlier this year when I was sourcing clothes and shoes for a photo-shoot. Her willingness to help, without knowing me from a bar of soap was amazing, I couldn’t simply forget her! Of course, when I started this journey of finding out more about this industry, I immediately thought of her! When Noluvuyo isn’t in the kitchen, (which she loves), cooking up something delicious to share with her friends and family, she tries to keep up with her love of running. She enters as many running events as she can. And in the few minutes she has for herself, she is always sewing up something for herself or her friends. My series of articles on fashion-related careers is aimed at educating people about the various career options they have with a fashion qualification. Would you say that someone who also has a National Diploma in Fashion has other options, besides being a Fashion Designer? Most definitely, most people think that fashion ends with being a fashion designer, pattern maker or fabric cutter, but it is broader than that. One can go into procurement —buying, sourcing, retail planning, retail–visual merchandising, sales, store management, personal shopper/stylist, editorial assistant, quality assurance and warehouse assistant/ manager. Yes! Being a fashion designer is not the only option! I understand that you’re a merchandise coordinator. Please tell the readers a little more about your position. I am the merchandise coordinator for the men’s fashion department, at Spitz. My role entails assisting the buyer with raising orders, liaising with suppliers and the marketing department. Also, I manage and receive department samples, compile trends and competitor reports, compile and analyze sales and month-end reports. And how did you get into this career? I studied a National Diploma in Fashion and further completed a certificate in Wholesale & Retail Buying & Planning. I studied at the University of Johannesburg and got my certificate in Wholesale & Retail Buying & Planning at EDCON under SETA. What does your typical day look like? It is nothing like a picture from the Devil Wears Prada! I come in every morning to catch up on emails relating to stock deliveries and due costing for the stock to arrive at the warehouse. Then, I ensure that we are receiving stock at a good margin and good price. I analyze daily sales by identifying good and best sellers (stock that’s selling well or badly) for my brands. Alright and how would you combat the poorly performing stock? How do help them perform better? As much as we try to buy styles based on fashion trends and sales history, it is sometimes hard to nail the sales we project. So we analyze what the possible reasons could be. For instance, it could be a certain style detail that could have been in fashion but doesn’t seem appealing to our target market. Other instances could be price-points. We may just be highly-priced compared to our competitors and need to reduce the price. Sometimes, we may have missed opportunities in allocating stock to the correct stores. So we move the styles to stores that are performing better. With our South African economy and unemployment looking very bleak, would you say that a career in fashion offers the possibility of entrepreneurship for graduates? Yes, I believe anyone can start any business with the use of their hands and minds. One could venture into making simple things such as handbags, accessories, clothing or curtains, to having a business that sources t-shirts, work wear, and small corporate gifts. Nowadays, most people are even making money from blogging in their spare time. Some sell a variety of products over social platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook. However, one should never underestimate the advantage of working for someone. That’s if you have a dream of starting your own business one day. You get to absorb a lot of skills and knowledge. Especially if you are intending on starting a business in the same industry. Experience can go a long way. What would your advice be to scholars who want to follow a fashion-related career? This might sound cliché, but I have always known I would end up in the fashion industry since I was a little girl. You need passion for the ever-changing trends, be creative and highly driven. Being able to work efficiently on your own, work smart and plan your week in order to make necessary deadlines are all important. A sharp eye for detail is required in ensuring that you don’t miss anything crucial. Breaking into the industry is tough and competitive. But if you have a vision of the future, your career journey will be enjoyable and fruitful. Have fun exploring other career paths that you could possibly have an interest in the near future. Never limit your abilities! Do you have any advice for the parents of the scholars wanting to follow a career in fashion? I have always appreciated how my mother supported me, from the day I told her what I wanted to study in varsity (fashion). There is a lot of pressure in delivering what is needed, especially when your child has more than 6 subjects in one semester. They will need support in advising them on how to manage their time, with school and their social life. Parents should prepare themselves for unforeseen expenses for projects and fabrics. With so many activities and promotions that are held on campus, they give your child an opportunity to make extra money. You can find Noluvuyo on LinkedIn as; Noluvuyo Cakwebe. Want to see women you know featured on SLA? Tell us what amazing things women are doing in your communities here.
Yoadan Tilahun: Nothing gives more credibility than the quality of your work
So many of us dream of turning our side hustles into main ones. Few of us do but Yoadan Tilahun is one of the few who’s managed to succeed. Yoadan founded Flawless Events while working full time in corporate trade in the Washington, DC area. Flawless designs and produces corporate events, brand activations, international conferences and trade fairs on behalf of its clients in a number of industries. These include Coca Cola, Google, World Economic Forum, Africa Leadership Network among many others. Yoadan moved Flawless to her home city, Addis Ababa in 2008, where it has been flourishing since. Heran Abate, SLA contributor, spoke to Yoadan whose career decisions and approach to life demonstrate a calm boldness that exemplifies the #MotherlandMogul. Having worked in corporate trade, why did you decide to start an event management company? It started as a side gig, actually. I was looking for an additional source of income to supplement my day job. Around that same time, the events I was attending were quite unorganized —so I leveraged my existing network and tried my hand at it. But from the beginning, there was no two ways about it. The very first event sparked this exhilaration in me —from brainstorming initial designs to realizing the finest details, I was hooked! To this day, there’s nothing quite like the adrenaline rush of being in perfect sync with my team. Especially when months of planning and toil pay off and an event falls seamlessly into place before our eyes. It sounds like it was going well in the US, what prompted the re-location of the business to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia? Ethiopia has long been a center for African intergovernmental affairs, being the seat of the African Union and the Economic Council for Africa. So, there were already many international conferences going on. Particularly around the Ethiopian millennium (September 2008 —we follow a different calendar), there were a number of grand initiatives to broadly expand Addis Ababa’s infrastructure and create larger FDI (foreign direct investment) opportunities. This meant an increase in modern facilities, roads and an influx of investors who were looking to tap into networks and opportunities. That was the market gap Flawless came to Ethiopia to fill. Would you say this re-location was the turning point for the company? Yes and no. While it was good timing, the hard work ahead was in building the momentum. We had to adapt to new regulatory frameworks, re-adjust to an entirely different set of clients. And also build relationships with vendors from the ground up. Like any start-up, the initial stages were crucial. You have to be tireless and tactful in pursuing new clients, being a step ahead of their needs. Until you build a reputation for over-delivering in (seemingly) effortless fashion. That sounds like there’s more good advice where that came from for our readers, could you elaborate? Certainly. To put it simply, nothing gives you more credibility than the quality of your work itself. No amount of advertising can make up for a poorly managed event. It was through happy clients’ referrals that we were able to get some of our highest profile and exciting events. So what makes for a flawless event? What else helped you establish a compelling brand and reputation? Clear process and production, the two are different but both critical. The first requires top-down strategy to tackle the separate pieces of the whole. It also entails investing time in creative output and designs to personalize the event then tireless follow-up. As the event nears, we burn the midnight oil, making sure there are no loose ends affecting back up plans and that we are in constant readiness for crisis —this is inevitable. Our clients rely on us to trouble-shoot and problem-solve on the spot —a late visa, equipment held up at customs etc. Are the majority of your clients international? What industries do you serve? About two-thirds of our clients are international. We mostly do corporate events, international conferences in trade and investment, development as well. We have held events that companies used as entry platforms into the Ethiopian market —Google’s first event for example. We’ve set up high-level meetings for finance entities who don’t have contacts in the country. Most recently, we organized an event in which Ethiopian Airlines celebrated its newest plane acquisition by setting a Guinness World Record for the largest human formation of an airplane. That was fun! How do you nab these high-profile events? We are tireless in building and sustaining relationships both locally and internationally. We are the only private-sector members of the International Congress & Convention Association. We are close partners with professional networks in Africa including African Leadership Network (we’ve hosted their event in Kigali and Addis) as well as Extensia —a continental group of high-level professionals in ICT. On the ground, we have excellent working relationships with hotels, government offices as well as previous clients. This gives us a lot of leverage to flexibly offer our clients a whole buffet of options. Your increasing influence sounds like a direct result from the events you have previously organized. Yes. Our influence is built on opportunities born out of our previous work and our growing network, clients calling us back to take on new events or referring us to contacts in new industries. You were very recently selected among 30 women entrepreneurs to take part in the Graça Machel Fund’s Woman Advancing Africa. What was the goal of this forum? What are the implications for Flawless? I’m honored to have been selected. Graça Machel is a Mozambican humanitarian and also the widow of Nelson Mandela. This forum is a platform for African women entrepreneurs to leverage their capacity and networks to influence the economic trajectory of the continent. It’s because of the integrity of the work that our client’s have attested to that we are invited to take part in larger conversations about entrepreneurship, economic growth. In Ethiopia as well, we are now well-positioned to take initiative in expanding the MICE (Meetings,
Dealing with small minds around you
We all have small minds around us. I mean let’s face it, not everybody can be an out-of-the-box thinker. Now, picture this. You’re seated, excitedly sharing your dreams with a friend or a family member and the next thing you hear is, “Why?” Confused you ask, “Why what?” And they launch into an almost rehearsed tearing down of your dreams. Oh boy! You get questions like; “Why do you need to go to a fashion school, why don’t you just do what every other person is doing ?” “Everybody is doing it, so why should your own be different or better.” The really mean ones will go all out and tell you, “It will not work.” “Better just keep it small and forget about all that big dream.” Then they will call you names like, “I too know” or “over sabi.” If you’re someone really nice, you’ll probably spend time trying to explain to people who cannot see beyond the small scale. These people can’t see why your dream is not only feasible but a sure thing. The ones that sadden me the most are those who hide their disbelief small minds and even jealousy behind religious excuses. I’ve heard them all, “Money is evil, your plans are not ‘godly’” “Christians cannot go into fashion, or cosmetics or modelling.” As entrepreneurs and ladies, we sometimes have to battle negative feedback from those around us. Those who project their fear of taking the risks on us. Don’t get me wrong, not all of them mean harm. For some, it’s just they way they are, the way they have always thought. They can’t see outside the box. Evidently, that is not you, you see beyond that. You have probably gone through the SLA website and have seen what young African women are doing and you get ‘gingered’. Your dreams are forming, you’re redefining your plans, you expand your horizons, you go back to the board and re-evaluate. Oh, the excitement. You want to share the good news! But it’s straight back to the earth when somebody hits you with the dead weight of their own reality. You are shaken, you take a critical look at the economy and, uh oh, doubts are creeping in. Listen you don’t need all that. What you need to do is… Change your sounding boards Don’t worry, they will come around later. For now, at the early, fragile state of your dreams, you need a support team of like-minded peers, people who can see from your point of view and push you along. Know that that you’re not the only one Nothing is new under the sun. Everyday, someone gets a new idea, (well not entirely new but you get the gist). And each day, someone gives up on their dreams. Probably because somebody, anybody around them just couldn’t believe in the dream to be supportive enough. Don’t be that one who gives up at the end of the day. Don’t explain your self Popular Nigerian artiste, Olamide sang, “who you epp?”. I think that’s self-explanatory. Let the dissuasion push you There are several versions of this statement but grow with the adversity, anyway. Learn to use the attacks or negative words to grow. Remember the story of the donkey? Yeah. Be wise and picky The only consideration I take into account is from the Holy Spirit. Others, even my mum’s, are subject to scrutiny and probable discard. As much as I love my family and friends, we’re not all on the same wavelength. Realize that it will be hard And don’t let it discourage you or make you believe your small-minded crew. Initially, it’ll be hard and for some, harder than others. On some days, there may be virtually no results and you may run at a loss. But your first victory is always sweet. Be convinced They are your dreams, yeah? Good. Then be convinced about them. It will take all the conviction you have to stay on track and not veer off when those around you are taking apart your well-laid plans with their words. You will second-guess yourself, you will be tempted to concur. You might just as well throw up your hands and give up. Nah, that’s not an option. Be centered Focus. Centered. Same thing. Keep your eyes on the goal. Don’t reduce your goal down to your power. Instead, match up your goal with your faith. Think up. The best athletes know not to look at the other athletes when running. But to keep their eyes on the finish line. It’s all for the love Remember, it may all be for the love. Those that care about you, don’t want you making mistakes. Still, you should filter. While I am tempted to say zone out, I’ve come to realise that sometimes listening to the not-so-toxic criticisms can inspire you to tweak your plans. It can also open your eyes to loopholes. Above all, start on the dream and keep going forward. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Help! I don’t have a mentor
If you’ve read articles and stories of successful entrepreneurs, the word ‘mentor’ must have stood out. Even the established entrepreneurs still have mentors. And you wonder, what more do they still need to learn? Successful entrepreneurs know the benefits of having a mentor and one of those benefits is the opportunities for learning. So what happens if you don’t have a mentor? Relax, it’s not the end of the world. However, here are a few things you should do: Read books What do you need a mentor for? Do you need a guide or someone to share their business journey with you? Do you need to learn from their mistakes? Do you want to learn how to manage time, make a sales pitch or form partnerships? What better way to learn all that than reading books written by successful entrepreneurs? Reading is the way, ladies! It can’t be that hard. Try peer-to-peer mentorship When founders talk about mentors, they refer to business owners who have had about fifteen years or so of business experience. Unfortunately, very few of these business owners have time to dedicate to mentoring startups. Now, you could consider being mentored by a founder within your age group. The good thing about this is that being in the same business environment, you can relate with this mentor. He or she can prove the best person to bounce off ideas with as they’re probably also among your target clients. Quit with the attitude One thing that can put your mentors off is the I-know-it-all attitude. As an entrepreneur, be prepared to be criticized, shaken and moulded. Keep in touch with your mentor(s) and update them on your progress. You would need to be that proactive. Leave the sour attitude at the door and be ready to be guided. Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs give up along the way, and complain about their mentor not making time for them and criticizing them too much. Well, guess what, it’s all part of the learning process. In conclusion, to be mentored, you’d need an open mind and a teachable attitude.