WCW January 2019 - Amama Ekwere

Guess what feature is back on the blog!!! Well, if you're reading this, then you know already. I started a WCW Feature back in 2017 (see my posts featuring Freky Andy and Daboju). I wanted to feature women that inspire me on a monthly basis, and the posts were well-received. However, I was heavily pregnant when I started the series, and by the time June came around, Little Miss Cocoa also made her grand entrance! At that point, I was not only overwhelmed with being a new and first-time mum, but also started dealing with personal issues. It's taken almost 2 years to get back on this train, but BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!

WCW - Daboju aka Naija Hair Can Grow

Hey there!

For my second interview on women who inspire me, I chose none other than healthy hair enthusiast/guru turned multi-businesswoman, Dabs aka Naija Hair Can Grow. I can't remember what year I met her - possibly 2013, but since then we have become blogger friends, and collaborated together. When I first met her, she just had her Naija Hair Can Grow blog, and was selling hair products monthly, as well as organizing intimate meet-ups (which eventually grew to the massive Salon Day Out events that a lot of hair enthusiasts in Lagos know about). Between when I met her and now, she has started a hair salon, a range of shea butter hair care products, a satin cap/pillowcase line, a range of brushes and combs, and will soon release a journal for children's hair care. All this, and she only just turned 30!!! And she's married with 3 children!!!!! And she has a job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do you see why I'm inspired by her? Let's get to know more about Dabs, shall we?

Savvy and Chic 4-Step Comb Systems

Nigerian entrepreneurs are on a roll! With the slumped economy, I've been enjoying watching young Nigerians come up with creative ways to earn or supplement their income. From tech to fashion to beauty, a large number of Nigerians are coming up with products and services that could rival their foreign counterparts.

One entrepreneur I've watched in admiration over the years is Daboju, aka Dabs of Naija Hair Can Grow, and the Savvy and Chic Hair and Beauty Hub. She is a budding beauty mogul, who grew her business from her blog! *side note to self* Berry, what the heck are you doing?!?!?!?!?!?*

10 Things I learned from the She Leads Africa Webinar with Stephanie Obi

I've posted a few of Stephanie Obi's posts in my Lovely Links. Anyone who follows her knows that she is one of the top Online Business Coaches in Nigeria. When She Leads Africa announced that there would be a webinar featuring Stephanie, I quickly accepted and shared the invitation link. It was titled "How to Start and Online Business." These are some of the notes I took. They might be a little jumbled up, and I might have missed a few things (no thanks to my internet connection), but I think there were great nuggets of wisdom that I just had to share.

HOW TO: Multiple Instagram Accounts

One of the best pieces of news I heard this week was that Instagram now allows you to add, switch and manage multiple accounts at once! For some of you, you might ask why anyone needs more than one Instagram account. Others, especially Bloggers, Business Owners, Social Media Marketers, may need to have separate personal and business Instagram accounts.

On my part, I manage the Instagram feeds for Berry Dakara, Cakesiena and African Naturalistas. I admit, I haven't done as well as I could have for some of the other accounts partly because I was too lazy to worry about logging on and off Instagram several times a day. So this is perfect for me, and I decided to share a quick guide on how to add and switch between multiple Instagram accounts.

My 2016 Goals Event - POSTPONED

Notice of Postponement

Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, the #My2016GoalsWorkshop will be rescheduled by one week. i.e. from February 6th 2016 to February 13th 2016

As many Lagosians may be aware, the Lagos International Marathon has been slated to take place on the same day. As part of the preparation of the Marathon, the Lagos State Government on Wednesday, announced restriction of movement on many major highways, roads and access points from 6:30am-1pm.

Therefore, to ensure that all our participants, vendors and facilitators are able to both gain access to and effectively participate in the workshop (and also participate in the marathon, should they choose to do so) the organisers of the #My2016GoalsWorkshop have taken the decision to postpone the event by one week.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and hope that you will bear with us.

The new details of the event are below

#My2016GoalsWorkshop

Date: 13th February 2016
Time: 10am
Venue: Prestige Hospitality Building, Plot 6a Block 64 Fola Osibo Road, Lekki 1

Berry Long Holiday Weekend

Hello everyone!

How was your weekend?! For those of us in Nigeria, that's "looooooooooooong" weekend! We had Thursday and Friday off, so it was a very welcome four-day weekend. How did you spend yours? I had activities every single day. Needless to say, I'm very tired this Monday morning. All I can say is thank God there's another holiday this Thursday. All I'm going to do is stay home and SLEEP!!! Well, that's the plan for now. I actually have an event for Thursday evening but I'm thinking about skipping it (Friday and Saturday have activities too, and I want to pace myself and not breakdown again).

Anyways, let's get on with what and what I did.

She Leads Africa - SheHive Opener

Yesterday I shared photos and a dancing video from one part of my weekend at Afropolitan Vibes. I promised to share the other part of my weekend - attending the opening of the SheHive by She Leads Africa. It was basically an introduction to SLA and the Motherland Mogul Week. Throughout this week, there are panel sessions with business experts on different aspects of entrepreneurship. See here for the schedule. Everything culminates with the SLA Pitch Competition this Saturday at The Oriental Hotel at 2:00pm.

Here are a few snaps from the event yesterday.

The Winner of the SLA All Access Pass is...

There were a total of 6 entries...

Using the list randomizer, the person at the top of the list has been chosen as the winner...

Congratulations Atilola! I'll send your information to the She Leads Africa Team and either of us will contact you with details.

One More Day to Enter for the SLA Giveaway

I'm announcing the winner of the She Leads Africa All-Access Pass to the SheHive tomorrow, so this is your last chance to enter.

The schedule for the week is below. 

Source

Even if you can make it to only 3 of the 5 days, it would be well worth your while. The tickets are N10,000 for the whole week, or N5000 per day. You can enter for yourself or a family member or friend. You can be a man or woman, it doesn't matter.

TO ENTER FOR THE GIVEAWAY
Simply join the SLA Community by clicking here and entering "Berry Dakara" in the field that asks "How did you hear about us?"

Get valuable knowledge, network with great minds, and give your business a boost!

The winner will be selected tomorrow morning :)

All Access Pass Giveaway to She Leads Africa Coworking Space - SheHive

I have an awesome giveaway to share in this post - especially to young, female (not mandatory though) entrepreneurs so if you've got a business you need help with, or are planning to start a business soon, you definitely want to try to win this pass. 

First of all, what is She Leads Africa? She Leads Africa launched in May 2014 to serve as a platform to invest in Africa's most talented and promising female entrepreneurs. Their flagship program is a pitch competition for female-led high growth startups on the continent and diaspora. Last year, 10 finalists were paired with mentors from premier consulting, finance and venture capital companies for 6 weeks of training and business plan development. At the end of the training, they were brought to Lagos to present their businesses in front of investors, mentors, media outlets and judges. And now, the 2015 competition is gearing up for their Entrepreneur Showcase at 2:00pm on September 26th, 2015. This year's finalists are:

In preparation for the showcase, SLA is introducing the SHEHIVE! It is the first popup coworking space for young ambitious African women from September 20-25 at the newly opened Cre8 space in Victoria Island, Lagos. The space will enable entrepreneurs to learn new business skills, develop relationships with fellow entrepreneurs and connect directly with investors. 

The week will open on Sunday September 20 at 5pm with a FREE Open House hosted by premium financial services company PAL Pensions. While enjoying complimentary cocktails and cupcakes attendees will be able to tour the venue, sign up for different classes, and participate in an interactive panel titled Setting Yourself Up For Success. The panel will feature Abimbola Sulaiman, Vice President of Investments at PAL Pensions, health expert and TV host Dr. Julz, Founder of LEAP Africa Ndidi Nwuneli and visual curator Yagazie Emezi.

During the week members can work from 8am - 9pm out of the community space where they will have access to private meeting rooms, high speed wifi and fresh coffee and pastries from the onsite Cafe Neo. During the day there will be lunch and learn workshops such as Joining a Global Startup with Evangeline Wiles, MD of Kaymu Nigeria; Thinking Long Term About Your Money with PAL Pensions and How To Maximize the GT Bank SME MarketHub.

In the evenings, members will have the opportunity learn from senior business executives such as Aliko Dangote, Hakeem Belo-Osagie and Yewande Sadiku in private fireside chats. There will also be fun networking events with a Motherland Mogul Paint Party with PTN Africa on Tuesday Sept 22 at 6:00pm and a workshop focused on Looking and Feeling The Part featuring tutorials from women led startups Thando’s Shoes, Beauty Rev NG, Eve & Tribe and ORIKI Group on Wednesday Sept 23 at 6:00pm.

All activities will take place at Cre8 Coworking Space located on Agoro Odiyan Street in Victoria Island Lagos, accessible from both Adeola Odeku and Saka Tinubu Streets.

HOW TO ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN AN ALL-ACCESS PASS
Simply sign up to join the SLA online community here: eepurl.com/ZlblD and put "Berry Dakara" in the field where it says "How did you hear about us?" That's all!

On Wednesday, September 16th, I'll announce a randomly chosen winner. Please note that this is serious business, so if you're genuinely interested in taking your business to the next level, you should try to win this pass. Otherwise, the pass is available for N10,000 for the whole week, or N5000 daily. Best wishes!