LIFE LESSONS AND PHOTOS FROM THE #FUSIONCONNECT EVENT WHICH HELD LAST WEEKEND
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| Christine Ogbeh, Samiya Oyekan-Ahmed and Uche Pedro |
So, some interesting things have been happening in my life lately, and I'll love to share with you as the opportunity presents itself. One of it is, my event production course/mentoring programme which I started with The Wedding Guru. Let me give you a brief insight: The Wedding Guru is into bespoke wedding planning with services ranging from event designing and event planning. For some years now, I have nursed the business of event planning and I've also silently ''stalked'' the founder of The Wedding Guru; Mrs Christine Ogbeh. If you are familiar with social media, especially Instagram, the brand ''The Wedding Guru'' should not be new to you. My stalking has paid off finally, as Mrs Christine has my attention as her ''mentee'' (allow me to famz in peace please!) Lol.
I registered for her two months course in event production, and with less than two weeks into the course, she has provided us with several opportunities. One of which was the #fusionconnect event that happened last Saturday in Abuja. The guest speakers for the event were; Mrs Christine and Uche Pedro, Founder of Bella Naija. I got a FREE ticket to attend this event courtesy of my mentor (I love her already!)...
When I got the invite, I was home alone and babysitting my niece. I had earlier told my sister who had an exam same day, that I was free and babysitting my niece wouldn't be an issue at all. I got this invite, and I was faced with 3 options. One was to decline attending the event (no way!), or taking my niece to her crèche (on a weekend? The thought alone made me feel guilty. I'm sure her innocent spirit wouldn't have forgiven me if I did take her to the crèche), and lastly, taking her along with me for the event (hmmm, not so convenient, but it seemed like the best option). The venue for the event is quite a distant from where I live, but I made it happen and got there right on time. Even though the sun was scorching, and my niece slept half way through the journey and I had to jump cabs with a 2 year old on my shoulder and a backpack on the other hand (please take a mental note and pity me).
Let me be truthful, sweethearts, I had fun though! I learnt and networked with fellow beginners like myself, and even the pros in the industry. It was an event I wouldn't mind attending again.
The host; Samiya Oyekan-Ahmed is such a lovable person and I could listen to her speak all day. She owns Fusion Lifestyle Limited and runs, The Gift Source, a business that packages ''all things gifts'' for clients. After the opening prayers, she asked that 3 attendees give their ''elevator pitch''. I'm sure I was just hearing this term for the first time. Let me educate you a little (don't lie, you didn't know what that meant too), an elevator pitch is just a quick summary of your unique selling point. For instance, if you are opportune to meet Dangote in an elevator or at the foot of a plane now, what will you tell him to make him want to do a business with you? You get it now right? Ok. I'm so sure if I was picked by Samiya to give an elevator pitch, I would have said something (of course, I would have said something!) but maybe it wouldn't have been convincing enough to ''sell'' my brand. Note 101: compose an elevator pitch and always have it at the palm of your hand.
Next, the Guru herself spoke. Mrs Christine literally built ''the Wedding Guru'' and all of her other companies from scratch. Yeah, she borrowed her first N50,000.00 to register her company with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). So she was -N50,000.00 when she started this global company. Please remind me, what's that your excuse from starting small again? And she climbed up the ladder by being focused, purpose-driven, motivated, persistent, innovative and determined. She's a wife, a mum and an entrepreneur and very successful at all of these.
Uche Pedro, the founder of Bella Naija and our other guest speaker is someone you will call an achiever. If you know Bella Naija, you will know that the brand has evolved from what it used to be in 2007 to become what it is now. I was still in secondary school when my elder sister introduced me to Bella Naija and LIB. Uche Pedro is so pleasing to the eyes in a very cute way (no homo), and she's just as sweet as Nigerian party jollof rice (you know what I mean). Her smile is infectious. She was so real, free, down to earth and with a great sense of humour.
The topic was: Transitioning from Dreaming Big to Doing Big'' and the speakers spoke exhaustively on it.
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| At the session. The speakers doing their thing! |
Here are some principles I learnt at the event which you should take, learn and live by (You should pay me for this, but since I received freely, let me be nice enough to give to you guys freely too) Lol!
1. What's your selling point? Remember the elevator pitch? It's just the same thing. What's that unique thing that will make you stand out from the crowd? Your thirty seconds - two minutes chance at changing your life. Your elevator pitch should be interesting, value adding and convincing to whoever you are speaking to. Don't just be a follower of trends, create your own trend and excel at it.
2. Dream Big: Mediocrity is common, be extra. I cannot emphasise this enough. At various times on this blog, I have said this (even though I need to say this more to myself). It's okay for your dreams to scare you. Mine even make me want to laugh at myself and say ''Barby, relax. You cannot be all of these things at the same time, nobody has it that perfect''. But I still dream it anyway, because if I cannot be everything, at least I shouldn't be NOTHING.
3. Your network is your net worth: When Mrs Christine said this and referred to it as a common saying, I was like ''but I haven't heard it like this before nau'' at least, not as apt as this. What I hear is ''na who get person get money'' (you have to say that in pidgin for it to make sense to you...lol, pardon my ''kpakoness'', but if you are an ''ajebutter'', stick with the network, net worth ish). You cannot sit in the comfort of your home and grow your network. Move out, attend events like this, relate with people, and grow that business of yours. Uche Pedro emphasised that building and sustaining relationships especially in entrepreneurship is a major key to success. Now I know better, I have changed my perception that it is a waste of money to attend these events. The opportunities that lie therein are numerous. Which brings me to my next point...
4. Go for it: Mrs Christine shared a story about being on a flight and sitting next to a top shot of a financial institution. She quickly grabbed her opportunity and engaged the ''shot'' in a conversation throughout the duration of the flight. Next thing, Mrs Christine was sending the lady an email when she got home and gbam! her company landed a business deal with the financial institution. With stories like this, I am trying to forgive myself for failing to approach certain persons I have been privileged enough to come across in this my life. What's the worse that can happen anyway, you get a NO response, and oh! Samiya agrees she has received NOs from prospects before. I think my problem has always been the fear of rejection, embarrassment and the likes. I'm learning now, none of these should break anyone. Your one YES can make the other NOs you've received in life, irrelevant.
5. Your support system is key: Amos 3:3 comes to my mind (okay, I agree. No one quoted this part of scripture at the event, but it sums this point up in my opinion) Two people cannot walk together unless they agree. Our host, and speakers are married women, with children, and they also have successful businesses too. They wouldn't have been this successful if they lacked a proper support system. This isn't even limited to your spouses (although, your spouses' cooperation is very important for you to be successful), this include your family, friends and your staff. You cannot be going right and every other person on your team is going left. You will need a team that shares the same vision as you and trust me, this includes your spouse. Imagine that you have to work outside the country for a week, or you cannot attend a family function or you cannot be around for your child's career day at his/her school, you'll need a spouse that understands the nature of your job and is ready to fill in for you without making you feel like a failure in the home-front or elsewhere except your work. If a staff isn't meeting your expectations, simply disengage him/her rather than ruin your business. It's okay to want to be a superwoman, but the truth is, you cannot be everything all by yourself. Delegation is key.
6. Consistency: Every business or aspiring business owner should know that consistency is key in building and maintaining a brand name. ''You should stand for something or you will fall for anything''. This applies to pricing, good customer service and quality of your product. The only excuse for deviation on this principle is improvement and not compromise (my opinion).
7. Think outside the box: Raise your hand if you think you need this point in your life right now (my hands and legs are up). Meeting with people at the #fusionconnect opened my eyes to a lot of things. I told myself, "Barby, you have the passion oh, but there's still a lot of work to be done mehn''. You shouldn't think that your passion is enough. You need to think of new ways of doing things, of attracting/maintaining your clients and of remaining relevant in the business. The industry, especially events planning/entertainment, is highly saturated. If you want to do the same things everyone is doing, you cannot expect a different result. Uche Pedro was the first Nigerian to monetize media through Bella Naija. Mrs Christine saw a void in bespoke wedding planning in Nigeria, and decided to bridge the gap. Exchange of gifts between people has been here since time immemorial, but Samiya brought a new dimension to it; gift packaging. You have to do the extra, the regular is so cliché.
Ok, I'm sure you have learnt a lot from the above principles. You don't have to be an entrepreneur to be guided by these. These are general life lessons. In your work place, or wherever you find yourself, strive to be extraordinary. Nobody is indispensable, yes, we hear that all the time, but nobody is YOU too, so be confident in your abilities. Go forth and excel sweethearts! The world is your oyster!
We also had brief talks on company registration from Aliff Legal Services and a health talk from Firm Care Diagnostics. You should agree with me that it was a balanced event!
Below are pictures from the event. Photo credit: my samsung phone and @thegiftsource
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| The Guru and Guruterns: L -R: Laura, I and Abby |
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| Laura and I |
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| The host of #fusionconnect : Mrs. Samiya Oyekan-Ahmed |
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Attendees at the event    |
And we had so much to eat and drink. I've tried endlessly to upload pictures of the eatables by different vendors but the network is not my friend today. I'm exhausted from trying. Or maybe the network is on your side and doesn't want you to drool and be envious...I understand that part. LOL! We had food from @classicgoldenpot, small chops from @good_eats_nigeria, yummy gelato from @frozenscoops, and cocktails by @mezracocktails.
I had a good time.
An update: So outta nowhere today, all these pictures I've been trying to upload and couldn't find anywhere suddenly pop up in my mail like; ''Hey young lady, I'm ready for you, you can have me now and do as you please''. I have pride, so I almost said I wasn't interested. But because, I hate to give you guys incomplete stories, there you have it. I just uploaded them. Easy breezy! Just like that! You must have seen me trying to upload these pictures some weeks back. It was a disaster. I was this close to crying and throwing down my desktop. Thank God for God. We have it now.
Cheers people, and do not forget to dream BIG!
Mwah,
Barby.
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Hi Dear, do visit us again.
Barby.