30 Metres Resources - Omotoyosi Bibiire Salihu #inthespiritofenterprise

Hi Guys, +Tuoyo Ikomi  and +Gbubemi Atimomo formed and Itsekiri alliance and concluded on the show that Human Resource Management and Marketing are both as important skills as the other for entrepreneurs to have! As hard as Kenny and I tried, we didn't quite bring the house down. hehe. Thanks for tuning in and please tune in again next Tuesday. If you haven't downloaded the app please look for the enterprise radio Nigeria app on google playstore, blackberry appstore or in your IOs appstore.

How many of you have noticed that getting drivers, house keepers etc has become a nightmare lately? My Dad has been trying to get on for so long now with no luck. So there is a need here, non? Yea, that's what Toyosi saw and this is why she decided to set up 30 Metres resources. She's our #inthespiritofenterprise feature today. Read all about her.

Enjoy........

Tell us about yourself

My name is Omotoyosi Bibiire Salihu, founder 30 Metres Resources. I have an LLB, B.L degree from Olabisi Onabanjo University. I am passionate about service excellence and delivery.

Tell us about your business
30meters Resources is a Domestic Recruitment company sourcing for Drivers, Nannies, Housekeepers etc.

Our Mission is to provide peace of mind for our Clients so they can do other meaningful work. With a vision to revolutionize the "Omodo" Sector and show people it is a profession like any other.

I'd been nursing this idea for a while, I finally summoned the courage and took the plunge on the 1st day of September 2014 when I placed the First Driver with a Client.We currently operate from my Living room which doubles as the Lagos Arm of our Law Firm. Most of our transactions are done online until we have agreed on terms and conditions. 

What was your Inspiration for this business? 

We have left the business of people catering to our Families for too long with charlatans. The downside is we get House helps and Drivers with myriad of issues ranging from theft to kidnapping.

It is time to dignify people who take care of our homes so we can concentrate on our businesses and professions. Our slogan is saying "No to Modern say Slavery".

Whether we agree or not, our Domestic Staff are like a life wire (I know this!), that's why we need dependable hands.

The people that bring in Helps from Cotonou 7 out of 10 times do not pay the Helps. Their salary is shared between them and their Parents, nothing goes to the Help.

It is time for a mindset change, it is time to treat Hired helps as Human Beings.

How did you get funding for the business?

I started the business mainly with funds from my Savings. I previously worked as the Station Manager of Rainbow 94.1 FM and I knew one day I had to do recruitment services. I just was not sure what sector to recruit in. 

I was in charge of recruiting as Station Manager, I had experience to work with.

How will you summarize the journey so far?
Domestic Recruitment is very challenging. The Staff themselves need a mindset change same as their bosses.

The Staff already have a set opinion of people they would work for; the Bosses already think they are worthless people. The Circle is a vicious one.

It will take time to balance these preconceived notions. This is more from the Bosses, an Oga thinks nothing of it to begin to curse his Driver or even sleep with/rape his maid.

The Driver/Maid also thinks nothing of it to rob the Oga at a given opportunity. I have had cases like this.

Also, we have no Laws safeguarding the rights of Domestic Staff, the Labor Law touching on it is so ridiculously worded.

In other climes, Domestic workers have unions, they have minimum wages etc. They have a structure to cushion them.

In Nigeria, citing an example ; As a personal driver in the employ of Chief Lagbaja, there is no chance for growth, no promotions, so the Driver must be paid well so he can cater to his own needs.

How would you measure your success in achieving your goals so far?

We have barely began to scratch the surface. The scope of what we are challenging frightens me, but it is doable and we are at least going to try.

How have you impacted your community?

A lot of our Youth are not employed, a lot are unemployable. A lot are involved in Get rich quick schemes. If you look around, you will find casino like kiosks all around, Alcohol intake is also on the rise....All of these suggests idle youth.

So Job creation is a first. We started out with people in our Community giving them first choice. Most of them see Domestic jobs as demeaning and below thier station. Our impact is to make them see that sometimes these Jobs can drive you to do better, they can be a means to an end.

Our impact is minute now, but we have started.

What are the main challenges you have faced so far and how have you managed them?

One of the main challenges of the business as I mentioned earlier is the Mindset of both employer and employee. We try to go to the Home of the Employer to find out how if our Staff is okay, regular communication is important.

Another one is the help running away, I haven't experienced this because we drum it into the Help's ears that working as Maid is not slavery.

If you cannot work with a person, let us know,do not run away.

The rest are trade secrets. We cannot divulge for security reasons.

What are the main opportunities that you have been able to leverage to get where you are today?

My Law Degree is very helpful here, I have 6 years cognate experience practicing Law.

I had a show on Radio called the Law and You, I usually would get Lawyers to speak on a broad spectrum of issues, this has also helped me carve out a mission statement with which to work by.

I am also a Mother, I know exactly how it feels to have Maids and Drivers so I am in a position to recruit.

Given the chance will you do this again?

Domestic Recruitment is very Interesting, I would do it again because I absolutely love it and it does not bore me.

What advice will you give to other entrepreneurs looking to launch

Research, Research, Be Realistic and Be Passionate

Connect with us

Email - 30metres@gmail.com

Call- 2348034770177, 2348081872113

Sesewa - Adekunbi Adeoye #inthespiritofenterprise

All these Obafemi Awolowo people sef..... hian! Lol. The way they say "from the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University" you will just be wondering. *takes cover* hahaha

Beef aside, we can agree though that a lot of talent and good stuff has come out of this "prestigious" school. Let's meet yet another one of them as she shares her passion.

Enjoy.....

Tell us about yourself?

Adekunbi Adeoye is a smart, dynamic young lady, the Executive Director of SESEWA Support Services, a graduate of law from the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University. I am best described by strengths and values; I am creative, enterprising, purpose-driven and committed to excellence and integrity.

Tell us about your business?

SESEWA is a social enterprise driven by the passion to give direction to youths; to ensure that they perform at their best. SESEWA is more than just an organization but a movement for excellence and professionalism in the workplace.

At SESEWA, we run with the vision of becoming the one stop centre for the best wave of talent across the globe.

How did you get into this line of business?

I love talking about how SESEWA started. As you know, a major part of what we do is providing internship opportunities to young minds that are ready to kick-start their careers. SESEWA was birthed after an awesome internship experience I had as an undergraduate in OAU. I interned with a law firm and it gave me a chance to really see my life start. That single internship experience inspired what is seen today as SESEWA.

What is the idea behind the name SESEWA?

The name SESEWA is a coinage from the Yoruba expression- se ise wa? translated as “is there a job?” This sums up the questions in the heart of youths. There is this unending quest for youths to be employed but the real problem has never been so much about the availability of the jobs; it has been the inability of youths to fit into the available jobs.

In simple terms, most Nigerian youths are unemployable not because they don’t have the certificates and school degrees but because they lack the skills needed in the 21st century corporate environment. SESEWA stands a wave of fresh air as we say, “we have the job for you!” The very type needed to help groom the needed skills for the workplace. Our internships are avenues to gain employability skills and increase in value to be more relevant in the society.

What are the challenges you faced and how you overcame them?

The price of success is not cheap. It comes with numerous hurdles which make people that are weak at heart to retreat. Starting up a business that is not common in the society can be challenging. The biggest challenges have been that corporate organisations do not define structures for internships and the undergraduate is still unaware of the importance on their career path. We use advocacy to enlighten both companies and undergraduates on the importance of internships and advantages for both parties.

How would you summarize your journey so far?

The journey towards fulfillment of purpose has been an incredible one. I have had obstacles to overcome, decisions to make, successes to celebrate, mistakes not to repeat, friends to treasure and the best part is, the dream is getting bigger by the day as the vision gets clearer.

Given the chance, would you do this again?

Oh yes! Yes! Yes! I would do SESEWA again and again; I would love to take the path of self-discovery, self- development and achieving success. It is known that many people have dreams but only a few have the courage to pursue their dreams until the dreams become their reality.

I have seen individuals walk into my office; some of them were certain about what the next line of their lives will be, some could only paint pictures, a lot others didn’t even know but the joy of fulfillment I get when interns complete their internships better and become confident about their chosen career path is something I can’t measure.

Website - http://www.sesewa.org/
Twitter - @seswa
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/SesewaNigeria

Lessons from the Nigerian Immigration Service Recruitment by Stephanie Obi

Let me introduce to you, Stephanie Obi. She is an online marketing trainer. She teaches entrepreneurs how to market their businesses online. She shares helpful business development tips at www.stephanieobi.com.

She's gracing our space today with her thoughts.

Enjoy.......

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Traffic!

I really hate traffic.

You know how we do it in Lagos, before you go anywhere, you will calculate your moves to check that you don’t get into too much traffic (or you check @gidi_traffic's timeline). If you can’t avoid the traffic, you will just prepare your mind to sit down in the traffic, so that when it hits you, you would increase the volume of the radio station and chill.

So you can imagine my utmost despair when I hit the road on Saturday morning, to quickly rush somewhere and come back home on time only to see stand still traffic.

I did not even believe the traffic I had gotten into. I wished I could just turn back or in fact, disappear.

The road to the National Stadium was completely blocked, and it was causing so much traffic.

“What!!!”

“What is happening?” I wondered aloud.

This was very unusual. How can there be traffic by 8am on a Saturday morning.

“Maybe there was an accident” I pondered.

I decided to take a different route to maneuver the traffic, and I was looking out for an accident scene, instead I kept seeing different people wearing white t-shirts and white shorts.

“Is there a tournament?” I quipped.

“How come I didn't notice any adverts? Who are all these people wearing white and white?”

I shrugged my shoulders and I forgot about it when I got to my destination, until a friend of mine updated her Blackberry display picture with a picture of tons of people wearing white and white at the National Stadium.

Apparently, the Nigerian Immigration Service was organizing a nationwide recruitment exercise on that Saturday and the National Stadium was one of the centers for the exam.

“Oh wow”, I thought.

“How are they going to write this exam at the National Stadium?”

“Can they control the crowd?” I asked no one in particular.

I went on Twitter and everybody was bashing the leadership of the Nigerian Immigration Service and saying that they should have used a computer based method to administer the exam.

I smiled as I read the tweets, as I thought to myself.

“Is it possible that nobody would have told the oga at the top that calling all the candidates to write an exam at the National Stadium was not the best way to handle the exam, and that they should try using a computer”

Of course not.

Somebody would have mentioned it, but the ogas did not listen.

Infact, I imagine the ogas eyeing the person that brought up the idea or accusing the person of wanting to “rig” the examination results. Lol.

I imagine him saying, “In my time, when I got the call to write the exam, I went to a hall with my fellow candidates, and we wrote the recruitment exam fair and square. I remember meeting my good friend, Ojukwu in that examination centre…the good old days”, as he recalls the story with nostalgia.

For the younger people, this makes no sense to us, why didn't they use the computer based system? Everybody has been asking.

Let me tell you what I think may have made the ogas resist the new idea.

Most times, we do the things we have always been doing, without considering the changing times. We do those things repeatedly because those things are called “experience”. We have become victims of habit. This is how it has always been done.

The Nigerian Immigration Service is not alone in this; a lot of people also do this.

Let me give you a practical example. As entrepreneurs, despite the changing environment and lifestyle of our customers, we still market our businesses the same way we have been doing it years before. Word of mouth, flyers and maybe adverts in some magazines. This is the way it has always been done. The internet has come with so many opportunities to market our business, but we ignore it because it is too complicated. It is not exactly what we are comfortable with. Despite the fact that a lot more people have smartphones and are accessing the internet every day, people are now googling things every instant, some spend a lot of time on social media; it has now become engrained into our lifestyle.

We ignore the trends and focus on working hard, doing what we know how to do best. The things we have gained from “experience”.

Change is difficult, I know. I understand completely, but a time will come, when people will look at you and wonder, “why are you not marketing your business online?”

It’s okay if you don’t know where to start from, like they say, “the journey of a thousand miles, begins with a step”.

Just make a decision to learn how to go about it, and take action.