Tag Archive | Small business

#Nwanyibuife #CelebratingWomenWhoDARE | The 2018 AWP Network Power List is Here!

Jan3

Farida Nabourema

#CelebratingWomenWhoDARE! A huge thank you to African Women Power [AWP Network], for celebrating and recognizing forty (40) phenomenal African women with powerful, inspiring, and influential voices. Kudos to all the phenomenal women who were honoured.

And a special salute to honour the resilience, beauty, enterprise, strength and courage of millions of African women across the continent and globe. We celebrate the unsung, and those in under-served and rural communities, who do so much, with so little, to make our society more just, equitable, safe and prosperous for all. And they do it all, with grace and grit, in the face of near impossible odds and barriers. #CelebratingWomenWhoDARE!

Congratulations to one of ours, -Whole WoMan Network’s co-founder, Juliet ‘Kego Ume-Onyido, for making the list.

To see the rest of the women honoured, click the link below:

The 2018 AWP Network Power List

[Culled from African Women Power; on January 3, 2018]

 

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To all ‘WomEntrepreneurs’: Stay the course and never give up!

Nov2

You wake up one day and you’re two years shy of 40. You’ve reached a point when it’s no longer about the pay check or the title on the door. Something is missing. Then it hits you. It’s the desire for significance, to make a difference, to give back, to connect, to grow, to be fulfilled, to have time-freedom, flexibility, to ‘work-to-live’ and not merely ‘live-to-work.’ You want to thrive and not just survive in this new ‘Empathy-driven’ economy! You come to the realization that you would have to give up something(s) in order to get the time you require to pursue the life of your dreams.

And so, you give up that six-figure `safe` world. You take up a part-time, minimum wage job, and as you go through the repetitive motions of ‘work’, you hone your ideas and spend  lunch hours scribbling on now tattered papers. Of course, the people in your life look at you and even though they don`t say it aloud, you know what they`re thinking: `She is  absolutely crazy!’ You know because some days, you think so too. Still, you learn to practice selective hearing and  ignore the pitying glances.

Yet, the ideas won`t leave you. You glow when talking about your vision. Time flies when you work on your business plan. You know in your gut that this plan is also your life plan. And life doesn’t stop; commitments to Mr. Rogers, Madame Bell and Ms. Enbridge still need to be kept! So you make sacrifices, cut off cable, stop eating out, become a coupon collector and a bargain shopper. You build a strong bond with the local library and develop inhuman radar for store-wide neon ‘sales’ and get on every thrift store’s mailing list.

Yes, the ideas keep you up at night and so you pray harder and cry to HIM for guidance. And finally one day, you finally take the plunge! You start small, you whisper to a friend, and tell a family member and you ask them to tell others. You find a network of fellow ‘crazy’ people to motivate and guide you. Even with all that passion, fire, focus and hard-work, the butterflies won`t leave you, the nerves hit you again and again. But you just keep going…a little step forward each day because you no longer have a choice. You must either act or die a very slow death!

You worry about monetizing what you love. Will the clients ever come? Does it make any sense at all? You wonder if those voices are right after all  Perhaps, you’re really throwing your life away. You begin to question if you missed the easy turn to ‘Reality-Land’ and took the enticing but difficult turn to ‘La-la Land.’ You look around for resources to help small businesses and stumble upon an amazing group of life-business coaches: Crystal Andrus, Ali Brown, Marie Forleo, Lisa Sasevich and Mike Klingler and their unique approach to ‘Collaborative and Value-based Marketing.’

And then suddenly, after years of slugging away, you wake up to find strangers calling you. Yes, you. Emailing, texting, begging to buy your products and services. They`re now your biggest and most passionate advocates and happily spread the word for you. You know you’ve hit the sweet spot when they pay you to speak, to share, to collaborate. You are glowing again. This time, it’s with the unique light of success.

And like a miracle, you, who begged and bugged friends and family to refer clients, utter these magical words: `I am not currently taking clients at the moment, but is it okay if I put you on my waiting list? ` And as soon as the words leave your lips and you hear their excited voices say: `yes`, you begin to sweat, to tremble, to shake. You double over with joy, with humility, with gratitude, with love and fall on your knees.  As the tears roll down, you whisper again and again: `Lord, I am grateful, Jesus I love you, Baba, I thank you, I thank you, I thank you!`

In that moment,  you realize that you must share this. You must tell other budding women Entrepreneurs like yourself, those brave souls around the world busy with  juggling life, chasing dreams, pursuing passions, going against convention, staying up at night, alone, with nothing but their dreams and ideas for company. You must encourage them to keep going, to never let up, to never give up because one day, they too shall say: `I am not currently taking clients at the moment, but is it okay if I put you on my waiting list? `

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The preceding is a guest post from Juliet Ume, MBA –Wealth Management Consultant & Lifestyle Coach at Whole Woman Network. Juliet is an avid Life Connoisseur and a passionate advocate of WomEntrepreneurship, Investment & Financial Literacy for women. Follow her on Twitter: @wholewomaninc

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Ten ‘work-life’ principles I learnt as an employee.

Oct3

Long before I caught the exciting bug of Entrepreneurship, I was an employee. One of the very first jobs I held was a Management Trainee position at Honeywell Group. As a fresh engineering graduate straight out of University, I was excited about the challenges ahead and the interesting projects I would be involved in.  And of course, the fantastic experiences and skills that I would gain in the process.

Fast forward to almost thirteen years later (2012), and I realize that the most important things I remember from my first job are not projects or bonuses or awards, rather, the coaching I received from my professional mentor at the time-the wonderful catalyst of trans-formative change: Mr Alex Taiwo, Human Capital Advisor.                                                                                                            
These are the ten principles he espoused:

1. Be clear on what your values and principles are. Form habits in consonance with your core. Clarity makes for better choices in seemingly challenging situations and gives you a sense of direction;

2. An authentic  and curious spirit that encompasses self-leadership, respect for others, collaboration, accountability, responsibility and drive towards a common goal as key to productivity, creativity and long-term profitability;

3. Never join a clique or group. BE a team player. You owe it to yourself to be a loyal and goal driven employee and not a high school student. Create benign structures that support productivity and cohesion within teams and leave the drama at the entrance gate;

4. Avoid discussions on race, politics, sexual orientation, wages, bonuses and commissions with colleagues. If you need any clarification on these matters, ask the appropriate HR personnel;

5. Sincerity and Humility are never old fashioned; they will serve you well both at work and in life. Do not play the compare and contrast game; No individual is better than the team, notwithstanding his/her vast skill-set or experience. Everyone has an important role to play, respect all;

6. Understand the culture and values of the companies you work for. Know also that culture evolves but the underlying values may remain the same;

7. Do not gossip about others. If you must gossip, always play the ‘reverse gossip game’: saying as many wonderful things as you can behind someone’s back! Learn to shake things off, never take things personal;

8. Priorities and synergies change, new power blocks are constantly emerging. Be good and fair to everyone, from Founder or CEO to Gate-man or Janitor. Put your best foot forward, always;

9. Develop your problem-solving skills. Be the ‘go to’ person for solutions and become a value provider. Talk well but  learn to listen better. Be the one who gets the job done and not the one who gets all the praise. Do not make yourself a conflict generator or ‘crap magnet’;

10. Be a mentor to others because in coaching others, we learn new perspectives and allow ourselves to be guided too (reverse-mentoring)!

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The preceding is a guest post from Juliet Ume, MBA –Wealth Management Consultant & Lifestyle Coach at Whole Woman Network. This is a post from the YRSBiz Blogging Circle. The York Region Small Business Club helps small businesses in York Region connect online and in York Region. Their goal is to provide free or low-cost opportunities for local businesses to connect and engage with each other and ultimately to help small businesses succeed.
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