We’re not sure we need to use too much grammar for this webinar. If your life follows the pattern below then you need to sign up ASAP.
When that paycheck alert hits your phone:
Two weeks later when you need to pay your bills:
Two weeks later when you get paid again:
And then later that night:
GIRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!! You need to get it together. We are too grown and too ambitious to be playing games with our money. While money certainly isn’t everything in life, it can provide security and long term stability for you and your family. You don’t have to wait until you’re older and more settled to start caring about your personal finances.
On Friday March 25 we hosted a private webinar where we got real about Setting Up A Big Girl Budget. Personal finance expert Bola Onada Sokunbi walked us through how to set up a budget that is practical and designed for young women like us.
Some of the topics we covered:
How to find the spending areas that are bringing you down
What are the major categories your budget MUST include
The tools and apps you can use to keep your budget on track
How to motivate yourself to stick to a budget
About Bola:
Bola Onada Sokunbi is a money coach, business strategist and founder of Clever Girl Finance, a platform that empowers and educates women to make the best financial decisions for their current and future selves. Clever Girl Finance inspires women to pursue their dreams of financial independence in order to live life on their own terms.
Young African women know how to bargain and do whatever it takes to get the best deal. It doesn’t matter what you’re buying, we’re going to make sure we walk away happen. But something happens when you call the conversation a negotiation and move it from a shop or market stall and place it inside a boardroom or office environment. We lose our nerve and we miss out on opportunities to advance our careers.
Harvard Business School research has shown that across the globe young women don’t negotiate and this contributes to thousands of dollars in pay inequality over a lifetime. We don’t know about you, but we want that money in our pocket!
On Thursday March 10 we hosted a special webinar with Janet Asante on how to negotiate for what you’re worth. With more than 18 years of experience in the corporate world she helped us build our negotiating toolkit to make sure we’re getting all we deserve at work and in our businesses.
Some of the topics we covered:
What is negotiating and how can it help you succeed at work and in your business
How can you build your confidence before entering a big negotiation
Ways to practice your corporate negotiation skills even when you’re not at work
What things you should negotiate for and what topics should be left alone
The five phrases you should NEVER say during a negotiation
About Janet Asante:
Janet Asante is a human resources executive with 18 years of proven leadership experience and a successful track record serving as trusted advisor to executive leadership team members including CEOs, Board of Directors, General Counsels and Executives. She has comprehensive HR leadership experience in private, non-profit, government contracting, and information technology industries.
She is also the co-founder of Guiding the Journey, a nonprofit committed to improving the lives of African youth in America and Africa. Over the years they have helped over 200 high school students with the college preparation process and adults with career advice.
Janet was born in Ghana and immigrated to the US when she was 8 years old. She is passionate about all things Africa and helping people bring their best selves to work.
In 2011, Suzie Wokabi, founder of Kenyan cosmetics brand, Suzie Beauty, said the following about her vision for her brand: “My dream is to turn SuzieBeauty Limited into a household name for everything beauty on the continent, and internationally. I want to become the MAC of Africa!”.
Six years before that, she had returned to Kenya as a trained makeup artist looking to stock up on goods. She faced a number of challenges such as not being able to find the high quality brands she was used to. Where she was able to find them, they were often unavailable, overpriced, or counterfeit. So in 2009, Wokabi launched her own local brand.
Seven years later, she is in reach of the vision she set out for her company. On January 25th, 2016, SuzieBeauty announced that it has been acquired by regional manufacturing company, Flame Tree Group, pending approval of the competition authority. Suzie said the following about the sale of her company: “For me this is the biggest milestone so far.”
Wokabi explained, “with the resources at Flame Tree Group, SuzieBeauty will likely expand its range to include skincare products such as cleansers, moisturisers and eye creams. There will also be investments into better distribution and marketing. In the long-term, production could be moved from China to Kenya”.
This wife, mother, daughter, and entrepreneur is trailblazing the way for other Motherland Moguls. There is so much to learn from the successful sale of Wokabi’s company. We’ve narrowed it down to just 8.
1. Do your research
In choosing to start a beauty brand, Wokabi did extensive research on the Kenyan beauty market. In an interview with How We Made It In Africa, Wokabi said the following: “My research shows that the development of products to fill our specific market needs has the potential of becoming a big and profitable business.”
She also did extensive testing of her products in the market before launching her business. She developed her product line and spent a year of testing on the market before launching in 2011 and beginning retail operations in 2012.
2. Choose to work in your passion
Wokabi once said, “If I did not completely love everything about SB and the beauty industry, I would have given up a very long time ago. I now understand why most startups fail. When you don’t have the passion and everything is an uphill battle, it becomes so easy to quit.”
3. Dream BIG
From the start, it is clear that Wokabi had a strong vision for her company and brand. From her early interviews before the launch of her product line to more recent ones, the vision has always been, as she said, to “distribute Africa-wide. The sky is the limit”.
4. Know your magic
While strong on quality products, Wokabi has said time and time again that the affordability of her products is what makes her competitive in the local and international market.
When she was asked if SB stand out in the midst of international beauty brands that had recently entered the Kenyan market? She responded, “None of them will ever beat me in price. The whole point of SB is the affordability of quality beauty products.”
5. Get help in your weak areas
Wokabi says she knew nothing about business prior to her endeavor. She has especially struggled with financials, an area her husband has supportive in.
6. Learn from your mistakes
While successful, Wokabi has never shied away from the mistakes and mishaps in her journey. After some false starts with partners, Wokabi made sure to engage differently with future partners.
She explained: “We have had so many bad partnerships. We have had both equity partners and debt investors. There were just too many mistakes made. We were very particular about this one. This time we didn’t make any mistakes – and it feels right, completely.”
7. Engage with investors and finance partners who understand your company and your vision
While in talks with Flame Tree Group, Wokabi was in talks with other potential investors. She had this to say about Flame Tree Group: “The chemistry has always been right from the beginning. So any challenges we ever came across, we would fix together.”
Flame Tree Group CEO, Heril Bangera, also had this to say, “We want to increase the brand’s presence in the market. We have seen the brand is successful, so there is an opportunity now to use that as a base to grow it within Kenya and beyond.”
8. Knowing that someone did it helps
Wokabi often mentions her role models, Bobbi Brown, in interviews. Bobbi Brown was an American professional make-up artist who founded Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. Estée Lauder, the America beauty products giant, bought the brand in 1995, with Brown retaining creative control. Wokabi will similarly retain creative control of SuzieBeauty.
We wish Wokabi, SuzieBeauty, and Flame Tree Group much success in their new venture. What other insights have you learned from this acquisition? Share them below.
Archel Bernard is a Liberian fashion designer and entrepreneur. She successfully raised more than $40,000 on Kickstarter for her company’s growth and shares with us how someone stealing her ideas got her started in fashion, her ambitions to build a global brand and why crowdfunding was the way to go to raise much needed cash.
Why did you choose fashion as your avenue to make a difference in Liberia and how has your business made an impact on the local community?
I wanted to be the West African Oprah Winfrey when I moved to Liberia. I would go to communities and shoot and edit videos of exciting things happening around Monrovia, and of course the West African Oprah had to wear West African clothing! I made my dresses at a trendy boutique in town, and the seamstress would take FOREVER to get my clothes to me. I was doing my own designing because traditional African clothes aren’t typically my taste.
One time I went to pick up a dress the boutique had been working on for about a month, and when I saw her, she was wearing a copy she made for herself, another customer was wearing a copy she just purchased, and another tailor was sewing one for her to sell on her racks! I still had to pay top dollar for a dress she was taking credit for designing. At that point I realized I could figure out a way to do everything I was paying her to do for me, AND possibly make a profit from it if people liked my styles.
I made 8 different styles, found two tailors, and paid them a small fee to make my first line. I didn’t even know I was creating a line, much less a company. I just thought I could make a little money around Christmas. I sold out of everything and used the feedback (and money) to make more styles. Two of those same looks are still our top sellers today!
I was never inspired to create until I came to Liberia. I loved the bold colors and patterns. The chaos in the markets and streets, and always the women wore bright lappa to navigate it. Seeing and wearing African cloth made me feel at home. I was thrilled by the design possibilities because from where I sat, we could do much more than tie lappa around our waist.
Two months after selling my first dress, my government contract ended and I was unemployed. My mom hired me to be her driver on a visit to Liberia, and my dad gave me his pick up truck, so I bought cloth with the money and sold dresses from the back of the truck. Slowly, I saved enough money to open a shop. I’ve worked all kinds of jobs to make this happen.
Now our business has grown so much, our tailors get sad when I leave town, not because they will miss me but because when I’m in town there’s always a ton of money to be made!
What are your ambitions for your company and The Bombchel Factory?
I want to build a large factory that staffs and trains hundreds of Liberian women, and offers classes on the side for literacy and business skills. This is about community building and industry changing.
I want our factory to rival not only rival China for quality, but be the best in the world for human development. I want clothes made in The Bombchel Factory to be sold everywhere from Nasty Gal to Bergdorf on Fifth Ave soon, to prove that there is space for quality, ethical fashion in the most exciting shopping districts of the world.
Why did you choose crowdfunding as a fundraising strategy for your business?
I chose to crowd fund our company because we had hit a point where we couldn’t grow anymore doing the same thing we were doing: small custom orders for under $100 a client. We wanted to reach the everyday girl, but customer acquisition was expensive and there wasn’t much profit in a few custom orders a month.
I’m incredibly scared of loans, after having already signed my life over to Sallie Mae years ago, and I don’t think we are big enough to start including investors with equity. Since all we needed was a strong following to preorder our goods, crowdfunding was perfect for people like us.
Everyone who backs our campaign knows to expect a wait before receiving their goods, so that gives us a chance to perfect our items and plan our website and New York Fashion Week launch party. We are using Kickstarter to literally explode onto the market, and Kickstarter is good for helping you build a loyal following.
What factors did you take into consideration before starting the crowdfunding campaign and how did you prepare to make sure it was a success?
I had a friend, Chid Liberty of Liberty & Justice factory, also do a Kickstarter for his t-shirt line. He was actually the person who recommended crowdfunding to me.
When his campaign launched it was flawlessly executed. They met their goal in a few hours and even got endorsements from several celebrities. I knew I didn’t have that kind of reach, but I also knew I had a lot of things going for me that I could package. I read every article and watched every video on having a successful crowdfunding campaign and applied what I could.
My best friend in Atlanta offered a great photo shoot deal, and my sisters have been known to work long hours for clothes, so I knew my packaging would be spot on. I had a ton of people interested in ordering my designs, but I needed to streamline the ordering process and show the need for my product would gain the same results as having a large network. Crowdfunding has proven I have a market, not just cousins and friends who want to support me.
What message would you share with other young African women who have big dreams but limited funding to make them happen?
I would ask you the same questions Chid asked me:
You need more money? Yes
You don’t want a loan? No
You don’t want equity partners? How much is your business worth? Not enough
You ever thought of crowdfunding?
You can ONLY use Kickstarter if you have a product. I would also make sure you have thoroughly tested the market, as you don’t want to pre-sell items and not be able to fulfill quality orders. Reputation is everything and that would kill yours. Just prepare, and prepare some more, and keep going because your (company’s) life really depends on it.
Ethiopian born, Kenya raised Mimi Alemayehou is a Managing Director at portfolio company Black Rhino Group, and Executive Advisor and Chair of Blackstone Africa Infrastructure LP.
After studying International Law and International Business, Alemayehou found development consultancy firm Trade Link Holdings LLC. She has held major positions as Director of International Regulatory Affairs at WorldSpace Corporation and was United States Executive Director at the African Development Bank. The mother of two has also served as Executive Vice President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).
If you are like us, you will hold your breath after reading about Alemayehou’s career journey. Below, we share some insights from this African power lady.
1. Strive for your educational goals
Mimi:The first successful entrepreneur I knew and looked up to was my grandmother. She could not read or write but she was one of the smartest women I have ever known. I often wonder how far she would have gone if she had been allowed to go to school by her parents, who chose only to send the boys to school.
Although, the silver linings of your career may not shine through that window frame just yet, your education is a step towards reaching your career goals. Mimi agrees (higher) education is a huge part of the African growth story.
2. There is much more in your future
After being asked whether she thought her position at OPIC was the climax of her career, Mimi replied: “I have always believed that life is a journey of learning; there is no end to it until you are no more.”
Although, success can be comforting, that comfort shouldn’t stop us from going beyond our comfort zones. There is always a next move. “I don’t believe there is such a thing as a perfect position or a dead-end job. At every step, you learn. Life’s a journey of learning.”
3. Believe in your work ethic
During her career at the African Development Bank, Mimi was the only woman working in the midst of 17 men. “I have never doubted myself in the things I pursued. Fortunately, I have had some amazing mentors in my life and in turn I try as much as I can to mentor as many people, particularly young women.”
Confidence is key when it comes to directing your future. Feeling strong about what you do and what you want will minimize doubt.
4. There are ways to do it all
“In terms of the balancing act of career and family, I believe mothers are natural multi-taskers”, is Mimi’s response to ‘how she does it’. And no matter how many exciting career moves she has made, she says “being a mother is my biggest accomplishment so far.”
Mimi believes prioritizing and accepting the pros of cons of having to travel for work is key to combining career and motherhood.
5. Approach situations with an open mind
“My most impressionable years were probably during my time in Kenya. I met so many people from many parts of the world for the first time in my life and that had a long term impact in my life as it made me more open-minded and gave me a greater appreciation for human diversity,” says Mimi.
6. Be picky with what advice you take
Mimi’s powerful statement: “I got to where I am today partly because I did not always listen to the advice I got. For example, earlier in my career I was always interested in working on Capitol Hill but a lot of people, including some of my own family members told me that there was no way a member of Congress would hire someone who was not an American citizen. I pursued this dream anyway and was ultimately hired as legislative staffer on Capitol Hill. I have found it invaluable to question things and not necessarily take “no” for an answer.”
Be aware of your possibilities, be thorough in how you approach them and follow through.
If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here
If raising capital from an investor is one of your top business goals for 2016, then you need to join us on February 2 for a special webinar with an experienced entrepreneur and venture partner from Silicon Valley.
Some of the questions we’ll cover:
At what stage in your business should you be looking to speak with investors?
How long should your business pitch be?
How can you find investors interested in your business?
Do you need a professionally designed pitch deck?
About Andrea Barrica:
Andrea Barrica is a Venture Partner at 500 Startups, a global seed fund and accelerator for early stage startups based in Silicon Valley. She was previously co-founder at inDinero, an accounting and taxes software solution where she led the team to the first $1M in sales in 10 months.
Andrea was a guest trainer at She Hive Lagos and coached our bootcamp participants on effective pitching and is excited to work with the SLA community again.
RSVP for the webinar here. Make sure you’re part of our community to get access to more upcoming events and programs.
As Motherland Moguls, we know that every kobo, pesewa, and cent counts while chasing your dreams. So while we love our friends, going out often can be a financial burden. If you’re fortunate (or unfortunate – you choose) enough to live in an isolated town where eating out requires an hour commute to the city center, then you must be doing your fair share of saving. If you live in a major city – Lagos, Johannesburg, Nairobi – that new pop up down the road that sells overpriced cereal is tempting.
To add to all of this, we all have that friend who always wants to eat out. But there are days when you really know you cannot afford to go out but don’t want them to know you’re skint. Yes, we know that, cause we’ve been there and had to come up excuses like 10 below.
1. “I didn’t do my BVN so my card is not working”
This applies if you live in Nigeria, or all your money is deposited in a Nigerian account. If that is the case, you have the new banking policies to thank for this excuse.
2. “Oh, I’ve been eating at *insert restaurant name” too much”
This excuse could come back and bite you, as it insinuates you go out to eat often.
In the same vein, you could be left with the burden of deciding what restaurant, which leaves you with two options: either suggest somewhere so awful that you know nobody would agree to venturing near, or suggest something completely different and free!
3. “I forgot my card at home”
This only works if you are actually out and about with them, or in their house and you have not brought out your card at all. This also means if you are dying for a bottle of water – no can do.
4. “Sorry, I have an appointment/meeting.”
Please do not Snapchat anything other than your coffee mug after making this excuse.
5. “Oh my gosh, I wish you had told me earlier, I just ate and I AM STUFFED!”
This works better with people who do not know you that well. Why? Because if you love food the way I love food, then your friends know the truth and will know you’re lying.
6. “I’ve been really busy, and need to take time out to rest”
I like this one because even if all you’re doing is watching show re-runs with a tub of ice-cream, it makes you sounds somewhat important and occupied with life.
This is less of an excuse and more of a genuine reason. Again, stay away from Snapchat.
7. “My parents want me home”
This excuse varies in effectiveness based on your age. But if you and your friends are from traditional African homes, I’m sure it would have a decent level of effectiveness.
8. “I’m not feeling too well” – ties in with number 6
I’m slightly wary about this one because it may come to pass. However, if you’re have a little headache, a little exaggeration would not hurt.
9. “Stuck in school/work/at a family event… rain check?”
It’s always nice when an excuse has a reason behind it, followed by the possibility of rescheduling. This is probably the most respectful of the bunch.
10. * Phone on flight mode * “Did not get your call/message, my phone just does that.”
Not a big fan of this one. I think we can all agree it’s pretty rude. But a friend suggested this and it worked. It also helps to remember all the money you are saving from ignoring those calls and messages…
Business Tip: Anytime you cancel on your friends, put that money into your savings accounts. It always pays to pay yourself first, ladies.
A pitch deck has become the standard way to introduce your business to potential investors and partners. Unfortunately this is not something you’ll learn on the job or in school and very few people are willing to share their pitch decks with others.
We’ve pulled together the best examples from more than 1,000 pitch decks that we’ve reviewed to prepare the ultimate guide for creating a pitch deck that will connect with investors.
What you’ll gain from this guide:
– The fundamental structure of an investor pitch deck
– The do’s and don’ts that all entrepreneurs need to know before they share their deck with an investor
– A template that you can immediately fill out to create your pitch deck
– Examples from successful She Leads Africa entrepreneurs
Want access to this guide and slides from some of the best pitch decks from previous Entrepreneur Showcase finalists?
Then just fill out the form below to join our community and get access to this guide and AWESOME weekly content.
3. Believe in your work ethic
This applies if you live in Nigeria, or all your money is deposited in a Nigerian account. If that is the case, you have the new banking policies to thank for this excuse.
