How to find a mentor online- without leaving your house!
Since Covid-19, we’ve all been in search of new ways to do things from the comfort of our couches. Figuring out how to find a mentor online can be a bit challenging because successful people are usually booked and busy but it’s very doable! When you’re looking to find a mentor online, sending a bunch of emails or LinkedIn messages requesting that they take you under their wings may not be the best way to go. If you’re looking to have someone to mentor you, they probably get tons of similar requests every day. You’ll need a strategy that helps you stand out. Here are some hacks to help you find a mentor online and possibly a friend for life: Find relevant people If you haven’t already, make a list of people in your field who inspire you. You can then boil it down to 3-5 people. When you have your list, make sure you find out as much about these people as you can. To find a mentor, you can also use the LinkedIn Career Advice feature, a great tool for finding new mentors. Make yourself visible The next step is to make sure your LinkedIn is popping with your work experience and accomplishments. The CEO of a company is not very likely to reply to a message from an account with no bio and 5 connections. Apart from LinkedIn, you want to make sure your presence on social media is clean and reflects who you are in the best way possible. Hit them up! Now it’s time to send a message to your mentor. Don’t say who you are and then go on to ask for them to mentor you. What you want to do is show that you respect the work they’ve done and talk about how this has also impacted your own life, you can then go ahead to ask if they can help with a specific area of your career. Once you do this, don’t forget to give a reasonable time for a reply, preferably a week. Make it easy for them to contact you by providing your contact information. What can you do for them? Don’t forget that mentors are people too so what you want to do is gain their friendship. One of the best ways to get a mentor is to build a personal connection. Volunteer to help them with a project, help out with a cause they’re passionate about or offer to help with some research. You can even interview or write an article about them – this is a great way to get to know who they are and connect with them in the process.
Just Omomo Ibe: Rule as a Boss, Rock like a Mum, Slay as a Wife
Business strategist and work- life balance expert, Just Omomo Ibe, is helping women create a balance between their work and personal life, so they can chase their dreams and make money while at it. She also helps individuals identify the various opportunities in their business to make more profit. Just Omomo Ibe has been in the banking sector for over seven years and is the founder of The Just Ibe Network; thus living her dreams while been an employee. She is involved in speaking engagements, coaching calls, online courses and business consulting for SME’s. Recently, she launched a Youtube show which focuses on motivation and strategies from experts in various fields, the channel is aimed at further helping her target market achieve success in their life and business. [bctt tweet=”It’s an act of self sabotage to neglect your dreams because you have a job” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Tell us about The Just Ibe Network The Just Ibe Network is a group of company that comprises our consulting firm, training and mentorship platform, it also includes an online training academy and media arm. At The Just Ibe Network we pride ourselves in delivering superior quality trainings, coaching and consulting for our esteemed clients both offline and online. What market research did you carry out in the course of starting your business, and how did you go about it? The first research was that of my competitors, I needed to find out what my competitors were offering and what gap they are not filling. This helped me make informed decisions as to how best to penetrate the market. A lot of businesses offer homogeneous products, therefore market research helps you understand how best to position your business in a way that not only meets the needs of your consumers but also positions your business as authentic. [bctt tweet=”Innovation keeps you in the business long after your competitors have gone” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] What challenges have you faced so far in the setup of your business? The greatest challenge I faced in setting up my business was creating time to actually execute my plans; creating and fine tuning strategies that would keep me relevant in the market place today and always. Innovation keeps you in business long after your competitors have gone, so you must constantly innovate. What are your launch plans once your business registration is completed? Honestly a business registration isn’t stopping any major launch of my business, as all facets of my businesses are in full gear at the moment. The registration would just allow me operate a corporate account in the designated banks. So my take is it doesn’t matter if your business name is ready or not, keep adding value to your ideal clients and grow your business regardless. [bctt tweet=”It doesn’t matter if your business name is ready or not; keep adding value to your ideal clients and growing your business” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] What inspired the book ‘Rule as a Boss, Rock like a Mum and Slay as a Wife? Rule as a Boss, Rock as a Mum, Slay as a Wife is a book dedicated to helping women create a work life- balance. Last year I started my career in public speaking, leveraging on several online platforms and offline avenues, despite been a full time banker, wife and mum. So people started asking me how I was doing all I was doing, so conveniently. I started documenting steps I have taken that helped me overcome my otherwise very tight schedule and results I achieved. This book is aimed at providing practical steps that can help women fully integrate all aspects of their lives, thus living a balanced and fulfilled life. What kind of investors and partnerships are necessary for your kind of business and what strategies are useful in achieving this? Media investors are required for the talk show arm of my business, which is targeted at providing strategies that would help entrepreneurs succeed and grow in business. Corporate investors also play a major role, especially companies who have CSR projects, ours can successfully pass as a CSR project aimed at helping young and budding entrepreneurs. Who is the one person from anywhere on the globe, you would love to interview and why? The one person I would love to interview is President Barack Obama. He is the one person I look up to the most, because he is probably about the best public speaker that exists in this day and age. [bctt tweet=”If you can think it you can definitely birth it” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] What quote resonates with your business and how does it inspire you? We at The Just Ibe Network live by this mantra: if you can think it you can definitely birth it. So dear corporate ladies, your dreams are valid, they are your dreams for a reason, it’s an act of self sabotage to neglect your dreams because you have a job; the world needs you to live to the fullest. Have you mastered the art of work-life balance? Share your story, let us know more about you and your story here.
Lynda Aphing-Kouassi: I have brought back with me this mindset of a winner and the power of excellence
[bctt tweet=”If you want a career that fulfils you, you need to focus on your interests rather than your qualifications -Lynda Aphing-Kouassi” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Lynda Aphing-Kouassi is a former banker and Founder and Director of Kaizene, a firm specializing in training, coaching and networking conferences. The process of creating African leaders and encouraging the inclusion of women is the core of her business which she tries to achieve by her coaching and training sessions. Passionate and rigorous, Lynda has extensive experience in the management of companies and employees in the following sectors, portfolio management; training, coaching, and seminars; conferences organization for more than a decade. For Lynda, the biggest resource a successful company should rely on is its workforce. Not being visible on the balance sheets it’s often relegated to the bottom rank. Via its various initiatives on leadership and training seminars organized, Kaizene accompanies multinationals and SME’s by reminding them of the best leadership techniques to use in order to enhance the skills, inspire the employees, create partnerships and synergies and ensure a stable and sustainable development. “Our beautiful Africa is full of leaders we just have to accompany them to the best of our abilities, mentor them, remind them of their potential and reiterate to them the soundness of excellent leadership in order to give back to Africa the place that it should have: “the provider of excellence”. You spent 19 years abroad, fill us in on your experience in a foreign land. As a French speaker who disliked English at the time, living in London was a most difficult experience. My sister who was married to an Englishman lived in London already and they kindly allowed me to live with them. I soon found I could express my fears and got to speak English more often. My brother-in-law’s help was tremendous because he was patient and understanding despite the many mistakes that I made. I then started uni and work during which I experienced a lot of setbacks and a feeling of non-belonging as far as the lifestyle was concerned. It is at that time I realised that to belong you had to embrace the new culture. But I could see that others embraced it to the point of forgetting their own! I then decided that the authenticity of my culture would take me far. So, while learning and understanding the lifestyle in the UK I was also bringing my own to the table. For example, I would make my country’s food during parties and lunches and wear my African print dresses as often as possible. I became an object of curiosity which brought people near me to try and understand where I was from and slowly the feeling of not belonging disappeared. I started to make real friends and began to really enjoy and understand the country. The UK became my home. At work in a FTSE 100 company and being a black person, you can imagine that every disagreement or difference of opinion may well be perceived as aggression. I considered this as a form of bullying and refused to be bullied. I worked hard and developed this mindset of a winner where nothing was good enough until it was excellent. Also, I made sure that I was going to be accepted, not just tolerated. This is what you can do if you value and believe in yourself. I learnt from this experience that only you have the answer to your own doubts and that the only judge is God. So, I have brought back with me this mindset of a winner and the power of excellence. My dream is to influence my peers with this belief so we can be proud individuals, strong, developed and authentic and to then become an example to others. I believe we can and will, with our young population and this mindset of confidence and excellence, have a better Africa. Awesome! So what did you experience in terms of mindset and lifestyle that you wish to bring to your own country or Africa as a whole? During my time in Europe, I found the development of infrastructure so important that it created a great communication between companies and people. The buildings are often rehabilitated and well maintained, communities put themselves together to ensure development and the cleanliness of their spaces in order to have a decent living environment. Technology is well advanced allowing sustainable environment and every child understands the value of a prosperous technology. I truly wish we have the same type of developed infrastructure in Africa, and I am sure we will get there. All services ( water, electricity, transport etc) go through the infrastructure and ensure the development of the community. This prompted me to plan the organisation of a conference on infrastructure in October this year to discuss our lack of infrastructures and how to ensure a sustainable development for Sub-Saharan Africa. [bctt tweet=”Africans have all the necessary tools to be excellent – Lynda Aphing-Kouassi” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] What does a better Africa look like to you? A better Africa to me is a stable Africa where we understand politics and don’t use it against ourselves. It is one where we realise that Africans have all the necessary tools to be excellent and should therefore collaborate. A better Africa is one where Africans can freely travel across Africa and use our own products, learn to transform our raw materials and understand our values. A better Africa is one where one African can’t tolerate seeing another one begging but where possible help others and grow together. And most of all where we do not envy Europe and strive to be the best. Walk us through the journey of starting up Kaizene. Kaizene is a baby that was born on the underground in London whilst talking to a friend about setting a business. Then the idea was put to bed. I had a job opportunity in Abidjan and although I had never experienced the working life in Abidjan, I
SheHiveTour2017
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”21196″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]The SheHiveTour is back and better than ever. Scroll down to see when we’re coming to your city. Look back at #SheHiveTour2016. What to expect: Expert led sessions that will teach you tangible business and career skills Networking opportunities Access to senior business leaders Turn up moments and explosions of #AfricanGirlMagic [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”16980″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”16979″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Our Joburg ladies gave us love as usual. Click on the image below to relive the fun from SheHiveJoburg (February 2017).[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”31805″ img_size=”500×400″ onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://sheleadsafrica.org/shehive-joburg/”][vc_column_text]Our sold out SheHive Kaduna (April 2017) was an incredible experience. Check it out by clicking below.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”33424″ img_size=”large” onclick=”custom_link” link=”http://sheleadsafrica.org/shehivekaduna/”][vc_column_text]We’re coming to Toronto July 2017 to enjoy the summer weather with you! Click the image below to join us.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”28413″ img_size=”500×400″ onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://sheleadsafrica.org/shehivetoronto/”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Cape Town was fire!!! Reminisce on the fun from SheHive Cape Town by clicking the image below (February 2017).[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”31806″ img_size=”500×400″ onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://sheleadsafrica.org/shehivecapetown/”][vc_column_text]Of course we have to come to Washington DC to pay homage to the city of Olivia Pope. Click the image below to join us (June 2017.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”31823″ img_size=”500×400″ onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://sheleadsafrica.org/shehivedc/”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Don’t see your city on the list? Then let us know that we’re crazy for skipping your hood. Sign up below and get your entire squad to do the same. We come where our community calls.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text] Not sure if you should care about attending a SheHive? You must be crazy! But in any case, this is what you can expect from a She Leads Africa experience: Fun and engaging content: We aren’t boring and strive to deliver business content in a fun and relatable way. Young women like yourself looking to make an impact: Our community is full of smart and ambitious young women who want to live their best professional lives. Access to real business experts: At our events we always have exceptional speakers who have been there and can show you how to do that [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][instagram-feed type=hashtag hashtag=shehivetour2016 num=30 cols=5 height=1000][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Adedoyin Jaiyesimi: People tend to trivialise the writing process
Adedoyin Jaiyesimi writes and edits books, manages blogs and creates content for websites. Through her coaching and training platform, The Sparkle Writers Hub, she is helping other writers achieve their writing dreams. So far, some of her trainees have moved on to start successful blogs while others have been able to gain access to platforms to showcase their work. Adedoyin fills SLA in on not just the excitement of writing, but what she is doing about it, for herself and other writers. How can a writer turn her craft into a profitable business? Turning your writing craft into a business starts with having a plan. What kind of writer do you want to be? What range of services do you want to offer? Do your research and find the niche you can excel in. There are people who stop at editing and proof-reading while others take it further by writing web copy and coaching other writers. Once you identify the services you are able to offer, you should talk to an intellectual property lawyer to know the steps to take to protect the content you produce. You also need to think about how you will publicize yourself and your work in order to build your client base. Build the right structure and most importantly, get people to work with you. As you get more clients you will discover that you can’t do it all by yourself, especially if you want your business to grow. What are the right principles to turn a small idea into a profitable business? I would say the number one principle is passion. You need to be passionate about what you are doing otherwise, the business will fizzle out. Then there’s the part of creating value. For any business to be profitable there has to be some value that is being added. This is essentially the ‘why’ of your business and it goes beyond money. What need is the business meeting? How does it improve the lives of people? One thing I have learnt over the years is the importance of building a brand and not just a business. You must be able to connect with your clients and deliver on your brand promise. This involves going the extra mile. It also involves making the choice to be excellent in your delivery of service and be innovative. Have you faced any challenges that are unique to your trade as a writer? How did you overcome them? Yes, I have. They are so many, to be honest. One of the challenges writers face is managing writer’s block. When I first started out, I was a lazy writer and I used to write only when I was inspired. You can’t run a profitable business as a writer if you only write when you are inspired. So I had to discipline myself and learn how to come up with creative content whether I am inspired or not. It was tough, but I’m glad I went through that process. Another challenge I faced was putting the right price to the services that I offer. Something that I used to hear a lot when I started was, “Is it not just to edit the content on my website? Why are you charging this amount?” There is a way people tend to trivialize the writing process especially when you are able to deliver quickly. I did a lot of trial and error before I could find the price that I was comfortable with charging because there is no industry standard. Now, I have set prices for every service I offer. I’ll add one more because like I said, they are many. Putting the right structures in my business was challenging. Creative people don’t like structure. We just go with the flow. This will hinder the growth of your business. So I had to take the time to put the right structures in place. I registered my business name, Content Craft, opened a business account, set up a proper accounting system and so on. It’s not perfect yet but we have a process for most of the operations we carry out. Realistically, in what ways can an African woman live off writing? There are many ways an African woman can live off writing. Like I tell the writers that I coach, you just need to be creative and be able to identify the gaps that exist. When I started out, what I knew how to do best was to write articles and edit magazines. Now my expertise has grown to creating and editing books, managing blogs, writing web/ social media copy and creating content for social media. So the possibilities are endless. If you want to live off writing, you can become an editor, you can be a content creator, you can be a copywriter, you can write voice over scripts, you can write content for training materials and so on. As you improve your skill, you can also earn money from coaching other writers and organizing training sessions for businesses and individuals. How do you help other writers achieve their dreams? Is it through mentorship or any other means? I created a platform called The Sparkle Writers Hub and our main aim is to help everyone who has a desire to write to achieve their writing dreams. We work with all kinds of writers; the ones who have a nudging in their heart and those who have started writing but want to take their work to the next level. We offer a basic training program where we teach writers the basics of writing and how to attract readers. We also offer a more intensive coaching program where we work one on one with writers to achieve their goals. Since we started, some of our trainees have moved on to start successful blogs while others have been able to gain access to platforms to showcase their work. What will be the name of your first book and what will it be about? The
Remi Owadokun: I started with N10 and now have customers in 7 countries
Remi Owadokun used a major life change to kickstart her online business as a weight loss coach and nutritionist. She also used that motivation to start an online video series that spreads health consciousness in a fun and interactive way. Remi shares with us her thoughts on what’s keeping young women healthy, how she started her business with only N10 in her wallet and how she’s planning to take her business global. Why did you start the Total Makeover Program? I started the Total Makeover Program when I made the decision to change my life and lost 40kg. During this process my life was transformed emotionally, financially, spiritually and mentally and I wanted other women to experience this power as well. The first thing that came to mind was simply to blog about my experience because many people who knew me wanted to know how I did it. How many people do I want to tell? So one weekend I sat down and started compiling my experiences. Once my blog was up I started sharing it via email to friends and family. When I went out and people asked me about my health transformation I always referred them to my blog. It was meant to start and end there but I started getting a lot of feedback from people who wanted me to keep writing. There were people who had started their weight loss journeys simply by reading my story and I started getting emails from people who wanted me to coach them. I initially said no because I was not comfortable with people coming to me or me going anywhere. But one day, a lady emailed me and said; “Please coach me, we never have to meet, just email me meal plans and exercise plans.” That was when it occurred to me that I could turn this into an online business. I imagined that if one person was interested, I could get more people interested too. Why do you think most young professional women struggle with living a healthy lifestyle? Many young women are misinformed about what good health means and how they can maintain a healthy lifestyle in today’s environment. Most people assume that someone who is healthy is slim. This is not always the case, there are several “fit looking” people who are unhealthy. They eat junk, don’t sleep well and are constantly stressed. Most people assume that by just eating right and exercising, you will automatically be healthy. There are many factors that contribute to being healthy and whole. You can eat all the greens in the world and exercise 2 hours a day, if you are a bitter, angry person, you are upsetting your biological make up. You can actually find rare cases where an individual eats all sorts of crap but because she is happy and fun loving may end up being in a healthier state than most. Being healthy and living a healthy lifestyle requires a more holistic approach that most ignore. The tendency is to focus on just one area of life and ignore the rest. What makes Total Makeover Program different from other health startups? Most health start ups focus solely on exercise and diet. At TMP we focus on two things: primary and secondary foods. Primary foods are things that feed us but don’t come on a plate like love, relationships, career, spirituality, education, etc. Secondary foods are the items we actually eat on our plates every day. We know that there is no point trying to control your diet if you don’t focus on the things that trigger you to eat. If we can fix the triggers then we worry less about your understanding of food. Most people are emotional eaters but most start ups never focus on the emotions. People eat when they are happy, sad, angry, stressed, etc. For some people a fight with the significant other that displaces them and sends them into over eating. For others it is boredom, being stuck in traffic, or a fight with their boss. I don’t see the point in telling people if they are ill equipped to deal with their emotions when stressful situations arise. I want to avoid the situation where someone I’m working with faces the same triggers and they revert back to their old habits and get so disappointed that they don’t want to try again. Life can be unpredictable and it is unhealthy and unwise to build our lives based on the happenings around us that are outside our control. At TMP we empower you to take full control of the only thing you truly have control over, YOU. For your business to get to the next level, would you prefer funding or a mentor? Which one would you choose and why? I started this business with N10 in my wallet and built it to where it is without needing to look for funding. I would pick mentoring any day as I have always had mentors and I understand the role they play in my life and how they have created opportunities for me. Proper mentoring provides value that will eventually translate to money. As a thought leader and as a mentor, I find that people who have worked with me are more impacted by the time spent together than anything else. Money will finish, then what next? What can we expect to see from Total Makeover Program over the next 6 months? I have coached a little over 80 men and women 1-on-1 in 7 countries in the last 20 months. There is a limit to the amount of people I can coach 1-on-1 , so I am currently creating an online course where people all over the world can download, partake and achieve results without having me there full time. I recently became an international best selling author for my book “How I lost 40kg” when I hit the number 2 spot only 8 hours after it’s release on Amazon. My next book is due in December and I hope to hit number 1. I am also starting the