Image credit: Francesca Uriri

I recently engaged a senior colleague of mine in a heartfelt conversation that touched on some of the challenges of being a woman of colour in Silicon Valley, navigating those challenges, and trying to understand what diversity and inclusion meant on a personal level.

I love conversations like that because it captures the nuance that is often absent in what I call “career forward” conversations—especially for women, and even more so for women of colour like me.

As we were rounding up the conversation, she gave me deeply important feedback—one that I’ve mulled over, almost daily since we spoke.

“Stop asking for permission,” she said to me.

I was curious and found her choice of words very interesting.

Asking for permission? What did she mean by that?

She explained.

“You need to trust yourself and your instincts more.

Stop doubting your capacity or abilities.

If you want to do something, just go ahead and do it.

Don’t second guess or doubt the outcome.

Just trust and believe in yourself.”

Wow.

Wow.

Wow.

Where I was initially confused about what she meant about me needing to stop asking permission, it immediately became clear what she meant.

You see, as a woman, you never quite get rid of impostor syndrome. I mean—you know it, you’ve read up on it, you’ve trained yourself to identify and overcome it—but it doesn’t quite disappear. In fact, if you don’t make a conscious decision to be aware of it, it’ll constantly disrupt your life and career journey—and not always in a positive way. Add to the fact that I’m an Isoko woman from Nigeria—raised in a culture that tends to over-index on caution and respect, especially for women—and you can immediately see where those invisible (but very real) hurdles come from.

Insight like this is deeply important—perhaps even more so than conversations around “leaning in,” “getting a seat at the table,” or “improving personal effectiveness” (whatever that means haha). Because until you are able (and willing) to bring your full self to work — and that includes an understanding and acceptance of your cultural influences and/or differences— then it’s going to be challenging to fully thrive.

I believe this forms part of the nexus of work in the Diversity and Inclusion space. How do we celebrate and encourage the difference in a meaningful way? How are we creating and enabling spaces for a myriad of people from different personal and cultural backgrounds? How are we harnessing that to build a workforce that is better engaged and inspired? And how do we incorporate this into day-to-day work in ways that make these individuals feel valued, understood and appreciated?

No easy answers or quick wins here. But perhaps, understanding the complexity of the challenge is the first step towards creating a sustainable, workable solution.

Content credit: Francesca Uriri

As a professional, you need to have a LinkedIn account. It is also not enough to just have it, you also need to optimize it, boost your engagement there and grow your LinkedIn network. So how can you achieve all of these? Read on!

Curate your timeline with the most relevant content

LinkedIn will populate your timeline with content that they feel is most relevant to you. This includes posts and content from your 1^st connections (usually the ones you engage with most frequently), hashtags you follow, related content that you’ve engaged with previously, and more.

Follow top influencers and thought leaders in your industry

Not only is this a great way to stay up to date on trends and hot topics in your industry, it’s also a great way to build relationships with successful professionals for potential collaborations and virtual mentorship.
This step will take some dedicated time and research. You may be able to find these people a little easier by doing a quick Google search like, “top tech professionals on LinkedIn.”

Like, comment, and share posts that are relevant to your brand and also support the work of others.

This is how you can further develop some of your relationships with LinkedIn thought leaders an others in your industry. If there is someone you admire or see posting great content consistently, make a habit of liking and commenting on their posts. When you comment, make sure to leave meaningful comments, because when you leave comments on someone’s post, now their entire network has access to see your comment/subject matter expertise. You’ll need to share your expertise and opinions as it relates to the posts, so you can attract more followers and better network.

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Leading Lady and Business Mogul, Karen Civil has created her own blueprint by turning her passion for helping artists and brands to a long-standing career. For Karen, it was a hobby turned into a career, and her success story is one that inspires.

Aside from being a career, Karen has impacted a lot of young’s girls’ lives, and for her, that is more important “The influence for me is living life on your own terms, realizing that I turned a hobby into a career. Figuring out how to dance to your own rhythm. Just walk your path, figure it out, and understand every loss has a lesson, and really knowing your worth and doing what’s best for you.“

Many women are fond of dancing to the tune of the society, but Karen enjoys the freedom of doing exactly what she wants to do, and that is one mark of a leading lady. “The freedom of being me, living life the way I want, and not the way society kind of dictates for women of color. Not having the stigma of being the product of my environment. The second thing is when I get those messages from people like, ‘Because of you, I started my own business.’ It feels really good to know that people identify with what I’m doing.”

So how do you become successful? Karen has the perfect tips for us!

• When people are ignoring you, and acting as if you’re insignificant, all it means is that you have to work harder.
• People use outward appearance against you all the time in life, so you might as well make perception work for you.
• Even when you have a corporate gig, never stop building your personal brand.
• Stormy weather? Hurricane? Unfair weather? Keep going.
• Know that being in a position of high visibility will always earn you haters. But don’t let them rob you of the satisfaction that came from your hard work and success.

Source: Essence and Haitian Hollywood.

The Leading Ladies Africa Induction is a formal event hosted to welcome new team members.

It involves walking new team members through the vision of the organization, familiarizing them with other team members and intimating them with what is expected of them.

This year’s event had in attendance, Founder of Leading Ladies Africa, Francesca Uriri, Head of Digital Content LLA and Content Craft Founder, Adedoyin Jaiyesimi, HR Manager of ACT Foundation, Ivie Ogbonmwan and Chief of Operations, The Future Project, Bukola Adebakin.

As expected, quite a lot was shared and I learnt so much. I honestly still have ‘hangovers’ and I do not think I will recover in a long long time.

Here are 10 things I learned from the induction:

1. Emotional Intelligence is a skill everyone needs to have.
2. Purpose can be expressed on the platform of a career but it is not limited to that.
3. Be willing to learn and embrace new tasks in your line of duty.
4. Some people are lucky, they get their dream job immediately, others are not so lucky. On your journey, be willing to take on smaller jobs while you await your dream job.
5. Have a career goal and stick to it.
6. ‘This is the way I am, accept me like that’ is no longer an excuse for character flaws.  Work on your weak areas and develop yourself.
7. As a creative, you need to learn how to communicate the vision you are upholding using the language of your generation. What this means is, be vast, be dynamic. The world is evolving daily, don’t be analogue in a digital world.
8. Be humble. News flash! You really are not all that and a bag of chips. I know it stings but it is the truth. Stay humble.
9. Mentors will help you on your journey, have a mentor.
10. Be good to people for no reason.

Do any of these points resonate with you? Let me know in the comments section.

Reduce your transport costs

• Married couples, work colleagues or parents with kids in the same school could consider carpooling to reduce transportation costs.
• If you have a luxury car or a fuel guzzling SUV, this is a time to invest in or use a fuel efficient car such as a Toyota Corolla.
• Instead of holding meetings, host virtual meetings through skype, face time etc.

Create and stick to a budget

• It is important to live on a budget. A budget will help you determine areas where you can cut costs. Often times it is the little things that cause the biggest problems. You may realize that you spend too much money on eating out and may decide to start eating homemade meals at work.

Prioritize

• Spend on only things that matter. Avoid unnecessary expenses and focus on needs not wants.

Pay off your debt

• Pay off existing debt and avoid accumulating anymore debt. Carrying debt, is like going on a journey carrying a heavy luggage. If you don’t have the cash to pay for it then don’t buy it.

Reduce operating costs

• For entrepreneurs or business owners, consider the option of working from home to reduce operating costs such as diesel etc. We are in digital age therefore tasks can be done anywhere.
• If you don’t need a physical location for your business then don’t be ashamed to shut it down. We are in a digital age and so you can turn your business into an online business and supply your goods or service online.
• Improve on your product or service to make it more attractive or appealing to consumers. Consumers are likely to reduce spending during a recession and so you need to give more.

Diversify your income:

• Think multiple streams of income. I moved jobs from one financial institution to another at the peak of the 2008 economic crisis. The company I left, laid off almost 50% of their staff and have not recovered to this day. However the company I moved to were financially intelligent and during the periods of boom, they invested in assets and diversified their income. They sold sand from one of their assets which gave them revenue in hundreds of millions and the proceeds were used to pay salaries and to keep the business afloat. No staff was sacked neither did they miss a single salary throughout the period.

It is one thing to survive an economic crisis but it is another to thrive. A new set of millionaires will emerge as a result of the economic crisis. The likes of John D Rockefeller, Carnegie, etc made their money during the great depression. Now a depression is worse than a recession. If these men could become millionaires during a depression, you too can create wealth and thrive during this economic crisis.

Thriving in an Economic Crisis.

I’ve recently embarked on a spiritual retreat and was led to study the Eagle and I discovered something very inspiring.

The eagle is a phenomenal creature. It’s beautiful and also a symbol of strength. There are so many amazing things about the Eagle but I will focus on one profound feature.

First of all, I love the verse in my favourite book that says “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar like eagles”- Isaiah 40:31. Bible scholars will tell you that the Bible never uses metaphors, analogies or words loosely. Now what does this have to do with anything?

First of all the Eagle knows a storm is approaching long before it breaks. While other birds would fly away when a storm is approaching. The eagle will fly to a high place and wait for the winds to come. When the storms comes, it sets its wings and the winds pick it up and lifts the eagle above the storm. The eagle then soars at heights above the storm while the storm rages below and it reaches heights no other birds can reach. The eagle doesn’t run away or avoid the storm, it uses the storm to its advantage and lets it lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm.

Like the eagle we too can rise on the winds in this storm. We can use this storm to reach new heights and new levels of success. In every storm or crisis there is an opportunity. In this economic crisis there are opportunities.

This crisis is a blessing in disguise for Nigeria. It is an opportunity for Nigeria to diversify its economy. An opportunity to revive industries that have been neglected previously.

Now we are aware that a lot of working professionals have been laid off however this is an opportunity to create a new set of entrepreneurs. Small businesses and entrepreneurship is the engine or driver of any economy. This is what made America.

Where are these opportunities?

Made in Nigeria products:

• We import everything in Nigeria but now it is too expensive to import. For example when you walk through the aisles of most grocery stores, you will find that the shelves are empty. This is a great opportunity for made in Nigeria products. We no longer need to import everything. We can make everything in Nigeria such as clothes, furniture etc. Recently a major international retailer in Nigeria put out an advert for made in Nigeria products. This is a great opportunity.

Agriculture is the next frontier.

• The agricultural sector cannot meet the food needs of our growing population. For example we spend circa $500 million dollars annually importing tomato paste. Everything grows in Nigeria. Dangote has seen this opportunity and has recently set up a tomato processing plant. There are opportunities across the entire agriculture value chain from processing to transportation, storage, marketing etc.

Tech entrepreneurs.

• We are in a digital age and internet penetration is still quite low. This is a season for the tech entrepreneurs. You don’t even have to reinvent the wheel, you can take a business model that has worked in a developed economy and localize it to suit our environment.

Professional services:

• This is also a good opportunity for professionals and consultants in branding, public relations, marketing, accounting, legal etc. There is an influx of new entrepreneurs and they would need affordable services from experienced professionals.

Investments

• Take advantage of real estate investments as property owners are looking to sell their assets at discounted prices for liquidity.
• Invest in stocks as prices are falling and so you can get in at a low price. It is important to note that with stocks you must always think long-term and leverage on advice from a professional.

There are so many opportunities in this current climate and only those who choose to face the storm and rise on the winds of opportunities it brings will thrive. Most importantly keep investing in yourself and remember to be your brother’s keeper. More now than ever, there are people who need our help.

About Omilola Oshikoya

Omilola Oshikoya is Africa’s premier wealth coach with over 12 years’ experience in finance/investment banking. A columnist for the second most widely read newspaper in Nigeria and the creator of PocketFinance, a blog focused on providing information on personal finance & business for entrepreneurs, Omilola’s goal is to inspire this generation to live the “Richer Life” and to help eradicate poverty by teaching youths how to make money (business/entrepreneurship), how to manage it (personal finance), how to grow it (investment) and the purpose of wealth.

Omilola has a passion for coaching, inspiring, motivating, educating, informing and empowering. She has been invited to speak at companies such as Accenture, Total Nig, Plc etc. She has also been invited to speak at events such as the Heineken Lagos Fashion and Design Week 2015 etc. She has been invited as a guest to speak on the radio several times as well as talk shows, family retreat, Churches, social events etc. speaking on topics such as wealth creation, financial management. She is also an inspirational speaker.

On the 11^th of May, 2016 the price of petrol increased to N145 per litre. As expected, this caused a lot of fear and panic for most Nigerians however it is possible to not just survive this crisis but to also thrive.

The backdrop

Nigeria is currently going through an economic crisis and is even projected to go into a recession by the end of June 2016. This is due to a disease it has suffered from for a couple of years known as the “Dutch Disease”. According to Money Terms, the “Dutch Disease” also known as the “resource curse” or “the curse of oil” is the damaging effect on an economy as a result of the exploitation and export of natural resources. This leads to the decline in other sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture etc.

Nigeria is a mono economy. Prior to the discovery of oil, Nigeria’s non-oil sector contributed significantly to Nigeria’s revenue approximately 80% however after the discovery of oil, we neglected other sectors which made us susceptible to boom and bust cycles as a consequence of the rise or fall in oil prices.

Since June 2014, oil prices dipped from about $110 per barrel to as low as $27 per barrel in March 2016. As expected this has affected oil revenue dependent countries like Nigeria. Worse still, during periods of boom, instead of investing in sectors such as infrastructure we squandered our resources.  As a result, despite the fact that we are an oil producing country, we import fuel for domestic consumption due to the fact that the four oil refineries are not in working conditions. It is also worthy to note that even if the four refineries were working at full capacity, they would not be able to meet the country’s needs.

In order to reduce the impact on consumers, the government in the past implemented a fuel subsidy which was very expensive for government during periods of oil boom. In 2016, in order to curb corruption and with the decline in oil revenues, government removed the fuel subsidy. In the long run, this would benefit Nigerians as savings from the removal of the subsidy could be diverted into investments in infrastructure such as healthcare, power, education, etc.

Due to the removal of the fuel subsidy, inability of oil marketers to source foreign exchange to import fuel and control of the price of fuel by The Government, oil marketers limited the supply of fuel resulting in long queues at petrol stations for almost a year. The government therefore increased the price of fuel to N145 per litre.

What this means for the average Nigerian

Prior to the increase in the price of fuel to N145, Nigeria’s were already suffering from the effects of the global economic downturn such as inflation, capital flight, currency crisis etc. Industries such as the telecoms, oil and gas, manufacturing and financial services laid off staff. The increase in the price of petrol of up to 70%, would definitely make things harder for Nigerians. The price increase would have a ripple effect on almost everything from transportation costs, to food costs etc.

There is no point flogging a dead horse and so for the purpose of this article we would focus on the opportunities.

Surviving an Economic Crisis

When you are in an airplane and about to pass through turbulence, the pilot would make an announcement that passengers should fasten their seat belts until the turbulence passes. Now for a first time flyer who hasn’t experienced turbulence, this would be a daunting experience and the person may think the plane is about to crash. The good thing is that it is only a temporary situation and with a good pilot, the airplane would be able to withstand and pass through the turbulence and take its passengers to the intended destination.

In the same way, we are passing through turbulent times as a country and continent. Thankfully our president and vice president are people of integrity and I am confident that they would be able to navigate our country to our destination of choice. Just like the airplane reaches its destination be rest assured that Nigeria will still reach its destination. However, while we go through turbulent times, this is a time to fasten our seat belts and do all we can to ensure we pass through this phase safely. This is a time we need to be wise and prudent, to cut costs as well as think of alternative or multiple sources of income.

Look out for the concluding part of this series tomorrow.

About Omilola Oshikoya

Omilola Oshikoya is Africa’s premier wealth coach with over 12 years’ experience in finance/investment banking. A columnist for the second most widely read newspaper in Nigeria and the creator of PocketFinance, a blog focused on providing information on personal finance & business for entrepreneurs, Omilola’s goal is to inspire this generation to live the “Richer Life” and to help eradicate poverty by teaching youths how to make money (business/entrepreneurship), how to manage it (personal finance), how to grow it (investment) and the purpose of wealth.

Omilola has a passion for coaching, inspiring, motivating, educating, informing and empowering. She has been invited to speak at companies such as Accenture, Total Nig, Plc etc. She has also been invited to speak at events such as the Heineken Lagos Fashion and Design Week 2015 etc. She has been invited as a guest to speak on the radio several times as well as talk shows, family retreat, Churches, social events etc. speaking on topics such as wealth creation, financial management. She is also an inspirational speaker.

Arese Ugwu, Founder Smart Money Africa is always a delight to listen to and learn from.

In this article, which appeared first in The Guardian, she shares insights on what turning 30 taught her about life and money. Enjoy.

Ok technically, I turned 31 a few months ago but that’s not the point. Lol! Birthdays always, make me feel some type of way because every additional year is a reminder that, as Yorubas say Agba ti de! My cousin Kike is probably rolling her eyes right now. Our birthdays are a week apart and every year since our 16^th birthday as said birthdays approach, I call her to lament! But this time I didn’t.

This time I spent quite a bit of time reflecting. I reviewed a journal I kept when I was 23 and had just moved back to Nigeria. It had detailed lists of all the goals I hoped to achieve by the time I was 30. . *I laughed in Bini* Let’s just say my life took a very different turn and looks very unlike the vision my 23 year old self had imagined and was confident that she would achieve.

As I looked at the journal, I took stock of all the goals I was yet to accomplish, the failures and mistakes that had led me to succeed in new opportunities that were never part of the plan. The obstacles that were meant to break me but only made me stronger because I overcame them. I am grateful for the lessons.

Life and Money lessons you should learn by 30

This life is 100% your responsibility… No one is coming to save you

In my opinion, the typical Nigerian in their 20s regardless of education or social standing is subconsciously looking for a savior. We finish school and are subconsciously waiting for someone to come and rescue us and improve our financial lives. Ebuka is waiting for the government to improve its policies and create more jobs, Anita is enduring her 9-5 life as banker while she’s waiting for a rich husband to come and marry her, Yomi is waiting for his uncle to find him a job and Sade’s lifestyle is supplemented by ‘uncle hep me’. Sometimes the saviors will come through but its not sustainable and you must realize that you are the rule not the exception. In the event that the said savior does not come through you have to have a financial plan that is dependent on you.  Start improving your finances by putting 20% of your income aside to build assets for the long run. It took a few experiences for me to realize that no one was going to come and save me and these bills weren’t going to pay themselves.  Don’t wait for a crisis to view your finances differently. Look at them differently now and avoid a crisis. You are entitled to nothing, if you want it you are going to have to earn it. The tougher the economy gets the more financially responsible you have to become. ‘Aunty hep me’ just won’t cut it anymore because even the people that gave handouts before have their own responsibilities to think about so as you approach 30 you must take full responsibility for your financial life. The world does not align with your goals simply because you wish it.

Time is your most valuable commodity

Lots of people in their 20s don’t save or invest because they are waiting to get a better job or start a business to earn more money but the truth is most millennials spend 30-50 percent of their paycheck on entertainment while they claim they are too poor or too young to save and invest but the reality is by the time you get to your 30s you realize you wasted a golden opportunity… time!  It’s better to start putting a little aside when you have minimal responsibilities and take advantage of the power of compounding interest. You have to find a balance between having fun and having funds. Sometimes It’s okay to miss out to stack up.

Your Network is your Net worth

By the time 30 is approaching you need to examine the quality of the relationships you’ve built over time and do a necessary edit, demote and promote accordingly because you are the sum total of the five people you spend the most time with. Avoid enablers of bad money habits.  Fadeke who is always saying ‘YOLO! Spend this moneyyyyyy’! Or Dupe who gets so sucked into ‘keeping up with the Lagbajas’. Any type of person you can’t be the real with about money has got to go. Terrible money habits are formed and replicated across friendship groups and so are great ones. If one friend talks about her business and investments – others in the group are likely to start thinking about it etc.

Divorce yourself from toxic people and expand your network with value driven people because your ability to attract wealth is intrinsically linked to how well you are able to leverage your network, to take advantage of opportunities. The business or job opportunities you’ll have access to will come from your ability to harness your network and learn how to convert that network into opportunities because the more people you are able to reach and influence, the more likely you are to attract new business, gain access to partnerships or raise funding for your business.

Learn to play the cards you are dealt like they were the cards you wanted

Listen! Its great to have a plan for your life, its very important actually. Nobody ever wrote down a plan to be broke, fat, lazy or stupid. Those things are what happens when you don’t have a plan. I’m a ‘lists’ girl! I have goal lists for everything from career to motherhood but I’ve learned that life won’t always go exactly as planned and you have to learn to be fluid.  In fact embrace the struggle because there will be struggles but overcoming them may lead you on a path with greater opportunities. Don’t be afraid of failure as long as you are dong everything within your power to succeed. The challenges we face in life are always lessons that serve our personal growth.

From Hillary Clinton’s speech, to Brandyand Lauryn Hill’s performances, to the powerful acceptance speeches from Amandla Stenbery, Shonda Rhimes and Rihanna, the whole event was LIT!

Here are 5 powerful quotes from some of the incredible women honoured at the event:

Danai Gurira: Star Power Award

“Black girl you rock because you have so much potential, because your power and your resilience will heal this world.”

Gladys Knight: Living Legend award

“When you respect yourself, you learn how to respect others.”

Shonda Rhimes: Shot Caller award

“Change the world and when you’ve done that, change it again.”

Amandla Stenberg: Young, Black and Gifted Award

“My blackness does not inhibit me from being beautiful and intelligent. In fact, it is the reason I am beautiful and intelligent, and you cannot stop me.”

Rihanna: Rockstar Award

“The minute you learn to love yourself, you wouldn’t want to be anybody else.”