Monday, October 10, 2016

SHEHIVE LAGOS ROCKED THE LADIES - by Pat Obilor



There is no such thing as over ambition. Your vision, dreams, goals, purpose, career, interest etc are all legit and it is not too late to start, so don’t limit yourself. This and more were the things I learnt after spending my weekend with these beautiful ladies doing Africa and the world proud with their giant women networking initiatives @afuaosei and @JasmineOsagie , founders of @sheleadsafrica . These are beautiful ladies who are rocking the world with their women empowerment and networking innovations? These days, I am beginning to enjoy the sublime feeling of spending my time with purpose driven women who understands that there is more to life…  
Nigeria’s Jasmine Osagie and Ghana’s Afua Osei are two humble and beautiful ladies living in the mantra of Myles Munroe’s quote: “Your purpose is not in marriage, it’s in you”, they know that it is profitable to build up oneself for the society and for their partners and they have through the @sheleadsafrica initiative preached the concept of the importance of making money and making impact simultaneously in all their networking / business ventures.
Over the weekend, the 5days long #SheHiveLagos event which boasts of a parade of teachings, mentoring, networking and fun between young entrepreneurial minded ladies and speakers who passionately shared their all came to a grand slide with the presence of powerful women personalities who spoke on the need to make money and make impact, how to raise funds for your goals, and growing your dreams one step at a time.
One of the speakers, Bunmi Lawson, the MD of Accion Micro finance bank who is said to have been instrumental to the successful growth of the company in over a decade said: ”The reason why I am against poverty is because i can’t stand it” and that informs the reason she has so much drive to help others through the microfinance loan schemes. She spoke extensively about loving what you do and being good at it, to her, having the right supporters click or people who believe in your vision is key. You must maintain good relationships with people because it is people who build the business.
On business growth, she said, your vision and a good foundation will translate to growth if you don’t compromise it. Have good mentors, build partnerships, leverage on social media and get the technical ‘know how’ for your business, you have to make a list of the top 10 organs that must always work in your business, what is the brain, heart and lungs that defines your startup? Identify and master them well, and don’t forget to create a legacy in the lives of people.
Another beautiful lady in the cosmetics beauty industry and founder of Olori cosmetics, Toyin Odunlade also enlightened the #Shehive participants when she stated that “ as a startup, you must get up and set up relationships for your brand, ensure your products don’t get out of stock, be humble, tenacious and persistent and always build your brand awareness daily in all the available social platforms” she also hinted on the need to be more detailed in business ventures such as having  a lawyer, knowing  your market reach, working out your product pricing  and getting feedbacks from people.”
Meanwhile, the chairman of Lafarge Africa, Mrs Peju Awobajo who spoke on the need to be well equipped with the right people and experience before you start your business said: “It’s okay to keep working while you are working on goals, but have a positive attitude in such that your colleagues can recommended well in the future”. She said good education, integrity of character and relationship management is paramount because education gets you to the door, but experience and character keeps you there. On purpose, she said: “life is best understood when you look back to know how far you have come, it is never too late to start anything, all you need to do is take a mental photograph of where you are now and where you wish to be in next five years then create that future one step at a time.”
On the question of funding, the two women, MD of Aciion bank and MD of Larfarge Africa seems to have same ideologies about approach to raising funds when they said: the first source of your capital is not in the bank or in your friends, it’s with you, to start a new venture, it is pertinent to sow your seed capital and throw your passion into it because your capital is like your blood flow. What that does to you is to reignite your spirit when you are on the verge of giving up,  because it reminds you of why you started in the first place”- Bunmi Lawson, MD Accion
Another way to raise funds for your business is to come up with a killer business plan and share it with family and friends, angel investors and network with others as well, also make use of your social media contacts by asking them to partner with you or becoming one of your board of directors. When you do all that, your business would gradually grow to a stage where you can now approach banks and other wealth sources- Peju Adebajo, MD Lafarge Africa
Finally, the event ended with the #ShoptheHive, a free for all open shops where everyone traded their products and services. By the way, I had a very delicious cake and I also picked a nice casual evening dress, but while leaving the venue, there was a word used by one of the speakers which resonated in my mind as I found my way home “Don’t be afraid to think big, let your dreams scare then get to work”- Toyin Odunlade, founder Olori Cosmetics
There is an ongoing revolution towards global empowerment for women, Africa is up to this call and She leads Africa amongst other women enriching organization are growth platforms where African girls turn to great women and emerge as Mogulettes in their chosen fields.
Will you continue to brood over your dreams or go to that boring job you wish to quit? Or would you rather join hundreds of amazingly beautiful ladies doing their bits to become the next motherland moguls? The next #Shehive is going to Joburg in South Africa… Join the train!
@cnn @cnbcafrica @forbesafrica  @olorisupergal @genevievemagazine @womenworking @pulseng @standoutwithpat @wfm @twmagazine @mogulettesmag @wimbiz @awief @leapafrica @faithfoundation @africanwomenhonors @amazingamazonsinitiatives  @women4africa #Sheleadsafrica #SheHiveworldwide #Ladieswhorock #Womenofpurpose #MotherlandMoguls #MogulettesAfrica #womensupportingwomen #Wedothisforourgirls

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