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
