Wimbiz Annual Conference 2016 soundbites

Our lot in the diaspora, as is often the case with conferences and awards shows on the motherland, is to tune in online to join the conversation and get snippets of the event. While still running FAB, I was unable to attend FAB Night Out in 2011 and was forced to watch part of the show via a sketchy live stream. I say “part”, as the live stream didn’t kick in for the first 45 minutes at which point I was tearing my hair out in frustration. Let’s just say, the live stream company had some choice words as feedback after the show. The six month I spent in Nigeria in early 2015 was a blissful experience just by the mere fact that I could experience every event live including the Wimbiz Annual Conference in March 2015.

Alas, back in England, I had to catch the highlights of this year’s event on social media. While these tidbits whetted my appetite for more, I still gained invaluable insight into running a business from some of the best at the top of their game. Hence, today I share with you some of the soundbites I garnered online which have consolidated what I know about business.

“Magic happens outside your comfort zone.” Ndidi Nnoli Edozien
Who could have parted with top wisdom so neatly packaged? Most of us know that our true potential and all the success it could bring lies just outside of our comfort zone, but most times we are too scared to leave what we know and love and waste our lives not fulfilling our potential. Sometimes it takes sleepless nights, juggling commitments and immense leaps of faith to reach out and find our magic.

“It is better to scale up your business in stages so that you can absorb the cost of the growth.” Ibukun Awosika
Wise words from one of the women on top her game. Once out of our comfort zone, we are so intoxicated with the magic and the rush of it all, we want everything fast, furious and now, and in order to achieve it, we spend much more money than allocated. In business, as in life, it is best to cut your coat according to your cloth so the scaling up doesn’t put undue pressure on your start-up budget, whether that budget is in the region of N100,000 or US$1bn.

“Begin to think of how you can monetize your passion. We give a lot away for free.” Oyinkan Adewale
Personally this was a lesson I learned the hard way. If you are the editor of a top lifestyle magazine and are generous of heart, most times you don’t see anything wrong with sharing your expertise with people who are new in the business of fashion and lifestyle; so much so that there comes a time where that thin line between friendly advice and professional consultation has eroded. It took me about two years to realise I was giving a lot away for free before I woke up, smelled the coffee and started a PR/branding agency. Hence, it felt good to have a lesson hard learned validated by another woman in business.

“We need to change business models if we are to thrive.” Peter Bamkole
In a world changing ever so fast, what worked last year in business, may fall short off the mark this year. Top keep on top the changes, it is crucial to reinvent and innovate, while constantly gaining the skills to keep you a few moves ahead of the changes.

“Finding Your Happy: Balance” the magic word.” Kayode Fahm
As women we feel our success is measured by the amount of work we take on – at home and beyond. Hence, in our quest to succeed, juggling as many balls as we can super-humanly can, we often overlook health and wellbeing. In the quest to establish the life I imagined I balanced my day job with my business for five years, which meant four hours of sleep every night for that period of my life. Once the business was set up, I carried on burning the candle at both ends until my body one day gave up on me. Since then, I strive to achieve a work-life balance – indeed the key to finding your happy.