I am Free!.........@LekeAlder and his #JesusMBA

Early 2006, Exit FCMB…..

Sometimes you know what you need to do, but you just can’t bring yourself to do it. It could be because of fear of uncertainty, fear of what people around you would say or think or jut fear in general. This was me by 2005 in FCMB. I would be so miserable on Sunday night and wonder why and then it’ll come to me that it was because there was work on Monday. I was what you would describe as young and restless, I wanted to do so many things, but all I got to do was wake up, go to work, come back home and pass out.

IT under the new leadership was taking shape; I was doing my little bit to stay relevant, trying not to complain about the work pressure and hours. If I ever thought of resigning, I thought about the salary (Gold handcuffs!), the fact that I had somewhere to go everyday (sitting at home can be depressing). The day came though, the last straw that broke the camel’s back……

I was on weekend duty, Saturday and Sunday. I did Saturday with no event, then came Sunday; at the time I had recently been placed on antibiotics because I had typhoid, but in the banks (naija style), you fall ill and you have one day at the most to see your doctor and get your prescription drugs unless you were practically dying. As a result of this unspoken rule, typhoid or not, I came in, looked around, not much going on yet, so I dashed to Mr. Biggs to get something to eat and take my drugs. Alas! I got back to meet an epistle waiting for me in my mailbox. The boss had sent me a really nasty mail and copied my direct report, Mr. Anyanwu. I remember it ending something like “This is your last warning”! Whaat! To say I was livid doesn’t cut it. What kind of life was this! I made up my mind right there and then that I was out. Call it pride, but I am Ondo and yes we don’t take nonsense! I would rather eat sand.

Luckily, a younger cousin had told me about Lagos Business School and I was interested. An MBA expands your mind to say the least. Besides, I was tired and needed a career change, the MBA was the only way I could think of.  So that day, I went to the site, filled the application form and started the process. At this point I had no clue where the money was going to come from and I was surrounded by nay sayers making comments like “What is the guarantee that you would get a good job after the MBA” as if getting a job is the main reason to go for an MBA *rolling eyes*. I also recently got married and was worried that resigning would put my husband under a lot of pressure, but my husband was tired of the crazy schedule on my behalf as well, lucky me.

Anyways, long story short, I got admitted to the Full Time MBA programme to resume 2006! I was elated until I let the nay sayers get to me again. I decided to defer, I was afraid. Thank God for family, having great support compares to nothing. On my way home, we stopped by at my parents, my husband and I, and I just mentioned to my mum that I was deferring, she jumped off her bed and screamed at me (yea, my mum is a drama queen J), what! I rebuke every evil spirit! Sade it will never get easier, do you think it’ll be better next year or the next, what about when children come? Do the MBA now and put it behind you. That was the one best pieces of advice I ever got from her. God bless Mothers!

It felt awesome when I walked into my boss’ office to hand in my letter…….. Good bye FCMB!

Life Skills Learnt

Whatever you have to do, do NOW! There will be no perfect time to do anything. Not that it is impossible; but I can’t imagine having to do an MBA now with my two sons, all that energy!! Naah men.

2013…….09 June, 2013

Its Sunday, I spent my whole day at home. I dressed the boys, got myself ready only to get to the car to find a totally flat tyre. My Dad made us learn to change a tyre before driving any car in his house, but today I couldn’t be bothered to even try after getting all dressed up and not with the boys running riot while I tried to change it. No no. Televangelists will do for today.

Another work week begins tomorrow. Haven’t planned my week yet per say, but tomorrow I should visit the ccHUB conclude my membership rights and access. I followed @LekeAlder on his #JesusMBA this morning, good stuff.  I will borrow some of his points as my tips for today. He had about 40, but these three hit home for me.

Entrepreneur Tips

A leader must be able to take good decisions under pressure. This is a major test of leadership.

What is profitable in the now is not always good for business in the long run.

At the end of the day, the future of the organization, its fortune and culture will be determined by leadership decisions.

Desiderata.........."Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans'

I am so tired tonight as I was yesterday, but my sister challenged me this morning. She checked for yesterday's update and there was none *covering face*. "You have just started oh, I hope you know, just four posts and you are tired", she said. So even as I am about to fall asleep on this laptop I just want to share something my father shared with me as a child, we had it hanging on the wall in his room and in our sitting room. It's still a master piece and whether you have read it before or not, please read it again and think about it. Have a wonderful weekend!

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,

no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

© Max Ehrmann 1927

I also found a youtube narrative of it here;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=NG&v=HDHoflDhAOo&hl=en-GB

My best part;

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

The same Version my father had.

Banking Consolidation........ @asktrezorlandia @oyamagng

The Banking Consolidation…..

Enter Soludo with the banking consolidation and reforms, banks were scrambling to survive. It was a case of acquire, get acquired or die. We had to transform as well, we embarked on an overhaul of our IT system, moving from Kapiti (a truly ancient version of it) to finnacle, we also acquired two banks, Nigerian American Merchant bank and Cooperative Development bank! It was a clash of cultures, software systems and accounts.

I know everyone had their fair share of pressure but IT ehn, e no get part two (second to none, for those of you who don’t do pidgin). It was bad enough that we were already perceived as “those people that cause trouble and make our work hard” by other units of the bank, then now there was so much more to deal with. We were doing Monday to Sunday, closing very late and in the midst of this I had to deal with the mainland to island commute and be at work for 7, 7:30 and we wonder why life expectancy has dropped to 45years. Tufia! (i.e God forbid)

It was obvious we needed new direction and a strong leader on management level or close to save our drowning IT unit. Then came Mr. Oni, a high flying all rounder from Accenture. The task ahead of him was huge, but he did all he could to measure up. At this point however, I was feeling like I was in a tornado, no purpose, no direction, no hope. It was that time again, I had to get out…….. To be Contd.

Life Skills Learnt

1. Be prepared! The banking consolidation favored those who saw the future. They were in the know. 
2. It’s not obvious in the post, but I learnt to “document” every single thing. I would try to tell my boss (before Mr. Oni) something verbally and he would say, “document it” by this he meant through a mail (for mail trail) or a memo. This was a period of immense heat and you could get fired for any slip ups.
3. I was on every committee you can imagine like the IT steering committee for one, it was like I had secretary written on my head. Well I learnt how to write minutes from being every meeting’s secretary and believe me, it’s a skill! Lol

2013…….06 June, 2013

At the end of each day, especially the not so fruitful days, I sit down and review the day, did I achieve anything, what did I do, what did I not do and then I look for things that I need to do better or new things I need to try. I need to step up my marketing, seriously step it up, this is a no brainer and sounds so very basic, but it is not at all (especially when there is no money!)

I recently found out that one young Ife student who attends my church runs a social media marketing service, Oyamagng; he’s a twitter maestro and is not doing badly for himself. He runs social media campaigns for small growing companies like me. If you run a small business, or need to introduce a new product, you should try them out; encourage young enterprising students who are not yahoo yahooing!  Anyway I have engaged the young man, we’re one week into this father’s day campaign and I’m feeling his work.

I now have a new handle called @asktrezorlandia, its dedicated to answering questions about gifts e.g. what can I buy for my boss, what can I buy for my daughter, what kind of flowers should I send for a birthday and so on. I thought about setting it up a while back but never came round to it, then when I engaged oyamagng and gave him his brief voila, I check my twitter timeline and what do I see “introducing #asktrezorlandia a platform for getting ideas for gifts”! Talk about running with a brief, this boy is on fire. So I had no choice but to sharply go and create the handle that had been in the cooler for yonks. I do hope the handle @asktrezorlandia would be to gifts what @Gidi_traffic is to dealing with Lagos traffic. AMEN!!! J

I also finally sent out that mail introducing Trezorlandia as a supplier of corporate gift items to the people on the list I compiled. I figured, I can send to the ones I have for now and I’ll send when I have more. If not I would still be compiling this said list a year from now.  By the way, I didn’t get one single reply, imagine that. Maybe I need to re-word the body of the mail or edit the subject, I need ideas! Uncle Leke Alder where are you?

Entrepreneur tips

1. Do something every day that you haven’t done before. No matter how small. Nothing is irrelevant; continuously improve on the finer details of your business.
2. Just do it! You’ve been playing with this thought in your head for some time, how do you know it’ll fail without even trying?
3. Build a team, we know you have skills in every area, still you can’t do everything yourself. Dispel the thought that you have no money to pay for services, consider forming mutually beneficial alliances with people and other companies. 

Baptism of fire...... Some great news

FCMB 2004……

I was posted to the IT department, just where I wanted to be. The orientation for the bank’s newbies was great. Fela Durotoye was one of the facilitators, it was my first time of really considering entrepreneurship (imagine that! At a bank’s orientation training), Fela is one hell of a talker! He didn’t tell us what we wanted to hear nor what the bank wanted him to tell us, he told us what we needed to hear. Well Fela, if you do get to read this ever, just want you to know, I heard you!

I once again found myself in the midst of men, but I felt at home, I was one of the boys, more or less J. It was fun fixing people’s IT problems. I was assigned to the helpdesk and loving it until aunty Kareemat (she managed the stock broking software) decided to resign! The mantle of receiving the hand over note fell upon me, barely 3months from joining the team!  Breaathe, don’t panic, she gave 3months notice, surely that’s enough to get a hang of the software and take it on, I consoled myself with this. Only for aunty to take her leave days in lieu or whatever it is they normally do. Gbaga! This was how the stock broking software became my baby, prematurely. It was my baptism of fire; I thought I knew pressure till there was an AGM or IPO or Dividend payment. I lived through this till Ayo Anegbe was re-hired ( I mean it, re-hired, they went to fish him out!) to take over. Life was good; I went back to the helpdesk and just did support work for Ayo.

Life skills learnt

You think you’ve reached your limit till you are stretched a little more. You’ll be surprised what you can live through (said in Yago’s voice, from Aladdin). My boss then would say, “it’s not rocket science”, I used to hate hearing this back then, but it’s true, you can deal with anything, just remember “it’s not rocket science” and if it turns out that it is indeed rocket science you have to face, then….. Run! Just kidding.

2013…. 05 June 3, 2013

Good news came in today; my application to become a ccHub member has been approved. God knows I could use some of that after the youwin and BET disappointments (story for another day). I heard about the ccHub at some training and I knew I had to join that community, there’s something about being surrounded by brilliant people (especially techies, I am biased, I know). You want to be surrounded by people who are doing great stuff rather than sitting back and complaining about the government (boo hoo!). The things those young fellas are churning out from there kwa! Budgit is there, efiko mobile is there, smids animation, name them, I must rub shoulders and minds with them. I am so happy and can’t wait to start working from the hub.

So today I started compiling my list of corporate communications and branding people’s contacts. I need to mention here that I supply corporate gifts, so if you are reading this and know someone I should be talking to, please send me a mail. Tell me where and when and I’ll be there in a flash. I am humble like that. Lol!! I need to expand my revenue streams before I run down. I know there are a million and plus one people doing corporate gifts, but I refuse to be deterred; I will find innovative ways to deliver value.

I logged on to Xero (my newly subscribed to, online accounting software) today to update invoices and payments. I think I am getting a hang of this. Oh accounting, where is thy sting?

P.S
No mention of business today, because there was no business!! Sighs…  One of those days

Entrepreneur tips

1. There will be good days and not so good days, whatever happens, keep moving.
2. The people your surround yourself with matter, find an enabling environment and key in to it. It helps keep you motivated which is really important.

My first Resignation..... Integrity in Business

Fast forward 2004……

All the highs of Tara systems started to wear off when my take home pay could no longer take me home. Something about me (can be good or bad, depends),  when I want a change, I want it so badly, I can’t see straight, I start to get very restless, like someone is choking me. It gets really bad and at this point, nothing else matters. So although no job offers had been made from the handful of interviews I had attended, I resigned! My very first resignation letter J, bye bye Seni Williams.

My colleagues then thought, “this girl is mad”. You don’t have another job and you resign, who does that! Oh well, I only sat at home for about 2 weeks, because believe it or not FCMB called me for a final interview, with my 2’2. The interview was with one of the Executive Directors at the time, Biodun Oyapero and I was so sure I wasn't getting the job! You see, I had this fancy CV template I got online and copied “summa cum laude” straight from it because I thought it sounded cool, didn't even know what it meant *embarrassed*. Well, Mr. Oyapero’s eyes went straight there and the discussion was about just that! Yikes! He asked me, were you top of your class and I say no and he goes so why do you have “summa cum laude” on your resume….. blank stare*. He could have thrown me out just then (some interviewers get that nasty), but he was gracious enough to explain what it meant to me before dismissing me. So it was a great shock, a pleasant one too when I got a call to come and pick up my letter. Yaaay me!

Life skills learnt

Don’t just sit there and wait, make a move:
You can seek advice from other people about life decisions, but in the end it all comes back to you. It’s about you, you have to know what you want and go for it. Don’t stay there if it’s not working for you, overcome your fear!

2013…. 04 June 3, 2013

Ok, I know this is not exactly the 4^th of June, but I typed most of this yesterday but didn’t get to post it because of other pressing issues like homework! Doing homework with my older son is like a huge task and I used to leave it to the lesson teacher till I realized he wasn’t really learning anything, yes the assignments were done, but more like a dictation. I am so firing him, but how to do this is a current dilemma I am in! Anyway, so we do homework now and the shouting and screaming that came with it initially has reduced (don’t look at me like that! It’s not easy). I had to tell myself, I survived engineering, I can do this! Yes!

So back to business, the delivery yesterday went well, eventually. The cake survived the long wait without falling apart. Delivering cream cakes is a lot of work. We picked up the cake and headed out but couldn’t reach the recipient to clarify her address on time (the thing with surprises ehn!). That was how we were left holding on to a cream cake in Lagos hot sun. Come and see panic! I had to find a solution fast; I buzzed people I knew in the area. SOS!! Who has a fridge to keep this cake while we try to reach the birthday girl? Luckily my good friend Okwudili has a fridge in his office and was reachable (this too is key in Nigeria, networks can kill you in an emergency).

After a few hours, we reached the birthday girl and guess what the address wasn’t too far from Okwudili’s office, whew! We delivered and were heading back when I reach for my hand bag and find a missing piece of the hair accessory themed hamper there!! Oh no! Not like she would have noticed, it was a surprise gift anyway and there were a lot of things in the hamper already but I couldn’t let it go. At first I thought, I can’t turn back joo, I’ll just keep it and put it in another hamper later but I was uncomfortable. So yea, I turned back. I tried not to look at my staff’s face, sure she was thinking, this madam sef get wahala too much! Whatever!  We were in Yaba and had to still go to Adeniyi Jones to customize a bathrobe but I had to give this back. Luckily, we hadn’t gone too far off and the road was free.

All in all, it was a good day; I didn’t open Xero to update my accounts though! Between homework, typing this halfway and dinner, yours truly more or less passed out on the couch.

Entrepreneur tips

1. Prioritize! In all of your business pursuits make time for the things that matter.
2. In business you are constantly looking for solutions to problems, apart from the overall problem that you built your business around in the first place. Your brain has to be alert, keep calculating, and keep planning. Perhaps I should call next time before picking the cake, maybe.
3. You need people, business is not a walk in the park and you can be tempted to bury your head in it and forget family and friends DON’T. After all is said and done, they’re all you’ve got plus, you can’t just spring up out of the blues to ask for help.
4. Integrity matters. You think you’re trying to prove something to someone else, but no, you need to prove it to yourself. Let it be part of you. You must be known for it if you want to build a sustainable business.

See Pictures below of the cream cake that almost gave up and the birthday hamper

The beginning..

2001….

Someone asked what I wanted to be 10years from now and I said I just want to be happy. That’s all I could think of after surviving unilag chemical engineering with no extra year (trust me, this was a big deal! Don’t laugh).  Honestly I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do next. I thought of travelling, studying French, acting, anything but more books.

Then that moment comes when you realize you need money to do anything plus you need somewhere to go every day before your parents drive you crazy. This was how I began my job hunt armed with my miserable 2’2 degree. That’s how it now looked to me as doors were slammed in my face. So much for my dreams of plenty oil money! Isho.

A dear friend at the time advised me to consider a career in information technology and this was how I got my first chance with Mr. Seni Williams. Working in Tara was like the best thing that happened to me then. I was full of enthusiasm, eager to learn and try new things and Seni Williams was the type of boss that would throw you into the deep and leave you. It was here that I developed research skills. You couldn’t be given a task and go back to Seni to say, I don’t know. I don’t know ke!! When there was Google and Ayotunde Itayemi (genius! I bet he’ll freak out when he sees his name here. hehe).

Life skills learnt

Unilag – Determination, Hard work, Friendship (I met the most amazing people), Problem analysis and dare I say Chemical Engineering (hahaha)

Nobody is an Island, you need people. I survived chemical engineering because of the wonderful family I had there. Till today many of us are still supporting each other. No business can survive without people, you need a team, you need to know how to relate with, motivate and generally manage your team or else you cannot succeed.

Tara Systems – Research, Just ask (No shame in that), nothing is impossible, IT appreciation, Web design

As an entrepreneur you are constantly doing research, looking for ways to re-invent yourself, your business, keeping yourself abreast of  what is trending in your industry, doing research on what the customers want at every point in time (because customer needs and tastes are constantly changing) and so on.

My time in Tara taught me that nothing is impossible; someone somewhere has done what you are trying to do. It’s on Google or just ask your own Ayotunde Itayemi

2013…. 03 June, 2013

A client I had lost contact with called me today. I was so happy, last week was so dry. Business on a Monday is a good sign! And it’s a birthday hamper, putting those things together gives me great joy. Can’t wait for the delivery tomorrow, that look on the recipient’s face when they see the hamper coming their way, priceless!

On the other hand, I am still working on my accounts with Xero, the new accounting software I recently got introduced to. Omo, the thing is not a easy something. Accountants try. We should appreciate what they do. I have a headache but this is because I haven’t really been keeping good records. It’s all scattered everywhere. This is where Mofe comes in, my new accountant; together I hope we can keep proper records going forward.

Entrepreneur tips

-          1. Open a book to record money that comes in and money that goes out in relation to your business daily! That simple. Unless you are running a charity or mom and pop shop (As Seni Williams used to say), you must sort out your accounting. It paints a picture of the state of your business.

-         2.  Keep receipts of everything as much as possible. Sort them out week by week. I.e. staple the ones for each week together (I am still trying to get used to this myself, I hate paper!). But you’ll need them for tax and audit.

-          3. Build a customer database with full name, email address and phone number at least. You want to constantly be in touch with your customers. My mentor told me that it costs less in time and money to keep and existing customer than to get a new one. It’s so true.

About the blog "An Entreprener's journey"

As I sit here and type, my older son is banging on the piano and his baby bro playing a game on my ipad with full blast sound. I am trying not to pull my hair out but I have wanted to do this for ages, write. I have had a few false starts but I keep coming back to this….. WRITE. So here goes nothing.

Entrepreneurship is a journey, a life-long journey, if you’re on this road and on it in Nigeria, then it’s safe to add HARD! Not like it’s easy anywhere else per say, nothing is easy really, heck life itself is hard, but towing the line of entrepreneurship in Nigeria……… nuff said! Nonetheless, succeed we must against all odds. I am not starting this blog to whine about the challenges I face as an entrepreneur nor as a mother of two boys, no! I want to tell the story of an entrepreneur and I hope that as you follow you would learn a thing or two and be inspired to be all that you were made to be.

Believe!

                         

P.S

Here’s how it’s going to be, we’ll have a flashback and then we’ll come back to the present.  It’ll be like this till the stories intersect hopefully. I feel the need to include the flashbacks because every little experience contributed to where I am today. This will be summed up at the end of each flashback.

Do not expect pure Queen’s English please, this is a real blog for real people, no embellishments, no forming (as we Nigerians would say, meaning no pretence). Secondly, I am not an expert, I am a learner just like you, so if you don’t agree with my tips or whatever I say, don’t crucify me.