OPRAH WANNABE

I TOLD YOU I WAS ROYALTY...

2010-03-25T01:44:00.000+00:00

I can’t believe four weeks has passed and I haven’t blogged about meeting His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales!! Yes you read correctly... not the Prince of Nigeria (as he would be my brother as I’m a Princess back home don’t you know), but yes, Prince Charles.

The special day was Friday 26 February. A few weeks prior to this I had been contacted by The Prince’s Trust events department, requesting my attendance for a private event the Prince was holding at St James’s Palace. When I heard who was inviting me and where I’d be going, I nearly fell from my chair. Whilst I sat listening excitedly on the phone, I had now stood up and started dancing like a fool, prancing all over the office.

Fast forward to the day in question, a car arrived to pick me up to take me straight to the palace, so it was a great start to the day. I spent my time in the car talking to my driver and updating my Facebook status – which obviously was highlighting what I was up to and resulted in streams of responses, which were words of support and encouragement from friends and loved ones.

Once we arrived at the Palace I met with various Prince’s Trust employees who escorted me upstairs to the main reception room. A few weeks ago I was asked to have a stand to showcase the company alongside the trust, so when I arrived everything had been set up for me – all branding, samples, tester pots the lot. As the attendees of the event were CEO’s of councils all over the country, many of them were mingling around by now, visiting mine and the other stands which were highlighting the several areas of support the trust offer to young people.

We were 45 minutes into the event when everyone (180 guests) were split into 5 groups to take part in round table discussions on how the trust can work with the various councils and how the trust can in turn help the young people of the boroughs into employment and education. A short film on some of the activities The Prince’s Trust do was shown to all guests on a large television screen. At the end of the film the facilitator opened the floor with questions and the discussion began and lasted for about 1 and a half hours. Whilst this may sound a little boring, it actually wasn’t. Half way into the discussion, the facilitator who was the London Regional Director for the trust introduced who I was to everyone. I knew prior that the trust required me to give a talk, informing the attendees of my journey since becoming involved with The Prince’s Trust, so I was prepared. As per previous posts, it was a little nerve racking, however I thoroughly enjoyed it as I had the full attention of the entire room - avidly listening to what I had to say. There are not many opportunities for a young self employed woman who has recently founded a natural skin care business to be in a situation where she’s talking to a captive audience of senior level members of staff, from decision makers for local councils and senior management at million pound turnover companies. I think this is what further added a ‘sweet taste’ to the whole thing, that fact that I later found out I was the only young person running their own business to have been invited to attend the event. I had been selected to represent the young people who have been supported by the trust (we’re talking thousands). If I wasn’t sure when I set foot in the palace, then I surely understood now why I had been given the first class treatment from being picked up in the morning being chauffeur driven to and from the palace. I now had the full attention of 30 + CEO’s and high level managers from well known corporate companies who support the trust, and I won’t lie, it felt good, real good.

After the round table discussions came to an end we were ushered back out into the main reception of the palace where we were served lunch (and what a lovely lunch it was). As I stood at my stand I was approached by several council CEO’s and Mayors, who were interested to learn more about Emi & Ben, my association with the trust and whether I would be coming to trade in their boroughs. After I had shook hands with what had probably been my 7th introduction, it was then I spotted Prince Charles; walking around with his aides, being introduced to key people in the room. The first thing I noticed was that his shoes was exceptionally shiny, (yes I know what I weird thing to say, but I’d be lying if I mentioned anything else first). Oh and his ears are not at all like how 80’s programme Spitting Image exaggerated them to be!

After His Royal Highness (*smirk*) had been mingling for what felt like an hour or so, he was introduced to the stage to give his speech. He came across very passionate about the charity and clearly stated what his aim was for today’s event. He included a few jokes which had the guests laughing, however I’m sure 99% of them would have laughed at the Prince’s jokes, even if it wasn’t funny. As his speech drew to an end one of his aides walked through the crowd and introduced herself to me. She said the Prince would like to meet me and asked me to walk back to my stand. As I stood back at the stand, Prince Charles walked off the stage and straight over to me. His aide introduced me by saying “His Royal Highness, this is Ronke...”. He replied “Oh Ronke, of Emi & Ben? It’s a pleasure to meet you; you’ve done so well, you should be really proud of what you’ve achieved. How long have you been running? “ “Five months” I replied. “Anyone would think you’ve been operating for 3, 4, 5 years – you’ve achieved so much in such a short space of time, you should be extremely proud”. I was by this time smiling like I had won the Euro millions roll over. I couldn’t believe how personable he was, I was on cloud nine with all the things that he was saying. He asked me to explain what Shea butter was, where I imported it from and how I made it into body butter. He also asked if he could try some to which I replied that I had a package to give him. Before he could instruct his aides, they had already made eye contact with me and motioned that I should give them the package. Two CEO’s who I had had previous conversations with jumped into the conversation confirming that they had discussed that they’d want me to work with their them on various initiatives within their boroughs, so I could engage with the young people to inspire them to becoming enterprising. “Anything you involve Ronke in I’m sure will be a success, judging by how she’s presented and continues to present herself and her business “. With that, he shook my hand again and said he wished me all the best and he looks forward to trying the body butters as well keeping in touch. *smiling*. Can I just say that I totally forgot to follow the appropriate way of greeting him? Handshake, courtesy and “Hello Your Royal Highness”. I think I did the courtesy and said “hello”! I had far too much to remember!

I could drag this post out some more, tell you how fabulous I felt after meeting him, how he’s my favourite Royal Family member now; and how this day may have just made one of the top 5 moments of my life thus far, but I won’t, I think you’ve got the gist of how I felt. Oh and can I just say I have the most proud Nigerian parents ever! I’m sure the whole of Nigeria know I’ve been in the home of the British Royal Family. :)

African Market Day

2010-03-24T22:31:00.001+00:00

If you are the owner of a business which offers a product or service within and outside Africa and the Caribbean, then you might want to know about this event. Run by The AMD Network Team, Africa Market Day is becoming a popular date for the diary for many. First established in 2008, its aim was to create a positive exchange of African and Caribbean businesses; whilst showcasing culture and enterprise.

They tend to have various markets taking place throughout the year in various locations around London. The next Africa Market Day is taking place on Saturday 8 May 2010 at Hampstead Town Hall, 213 Haverstock Hill, NW3 4QP. Should you wish to exhibit I believe they still have stalls available; email enquires@theafricanmarketday.com for more information, or call 020 3393 5735. They also have a Facebook page you can check out ‘The African Market Day’.

As I’m yet to attend a AMD Network Team event (shame on me), I’m not sure what to expect, however from what I’ve seen thus far, it seems to be a good recipe - so do show your support by attending if you can. I might see you down there... where there is African and Caribbean food, there will be a hungry looking chick propped up beside the food stalls.

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE MARK

2010-03-10T22:46:00.001+00:00

For those of you who have set up organisations to make a difference across the UK and beyond, you should get to know the Social Enterpise Mark http://www.socialenterprisemark.org.uk/ Organisations who refer to themselves as a 'Social Enterprise' at times may get a raw deal as not enough people know what they are or how they work. The Social Enterprise Mark, acts as the brand for social enterprises. It's aim is to raise awareness of what social enterprises do in order to get more people to buy from, engage with, start up as well as work for social enterprises.

For the entrepreneurs out there who have set up a social enterprise, I encourage you to visit the site to find out how it may benefit your organisation by applying for the mark.

THE PRINCE'S TRUST - MILLION MAKERS EVENT

2010-02-25T22:16:00.000+00:00

Nicola Brentnall (Secretary to The Prince's Trust), ME (Founder, Emi & Ben), Tim Campbell (Founder, Bright Ideas Trust)

Last night I was invited to give a speech at an annual award ceremony which celebrates money raised by companies who take part in an initiative named ‘Million Makers’ - a corporate fundraising challenge developed by the young people’s charity The Prince’s Trust.

As a the founder of a company which is supported by the Trust in addition to being a Prince’s Trust Young Ambassador, I was asked to talk about my Prince’s Trust experience and how I believe they’re support has helped me and the business develop. Whilst I was nervous in the lead up to giving the speech, (I detest public speaking), it’s something I believed HAD to be done and done well, as I really wanted those who are involved in Million Makers to understand the outstanding results they’ve achieved and how their commitment is appreciated by budding entrepreneurs like me. After all its money raised by them that enable the trust to fund start up businesses like Emi & Ben.

Just to give you some facts about how FANTASTIC this initiative is, Million Makers is a national competition challenging teams of employees, school pupils and university students to come together to raise £1 million for The Prince’s Trust and make a real difference to the lives of young people across the UK. Last night’s shindig was the Regional Final for London and the South East which saw 11 corporate teams compete as well as three university teams all take part. In its second year, Million Makers has raised so far just over £1 million (£1.1 million).

58 corporate teams have taken part this year across the UK from a variety of sectors including legal, public sector, financial and retail. Million Makers has raised nearly £600,000 in total nationally with around £125,000 raised for the London and South East Region. The Corporate Challenge tasks teams of aspiring entrepreneurs; from graduates to senior employees, to work together to turn £1,500 seed funding into a profit of £10,000 for The Prince’s Trust over the course of six months. Once established, teams pitch their business plan to a Dragons’ Den style panel in order to secure their seed funding. In the knowledge that they have a robust and water-tight plan, the teams then implement and promote their own mini enterprise. A host of teams from companies and organisations across the UK compete against each other to run the most profitable mini enterprise.

My fellow speaker was BBC’s Apprentice winner Tim Campbell, who is exceptional at keeping the guests geared up, motivated and inspired... a true professional; as a public speaker and entrepreneur. After my speech he took to the stage to present the awards to the runner’s up which included Royal Bank of Scotland (£17,926), Linklaters (£20,736) and winning team Yell who raised a phenomenal £82,000! A truly amazing effort by all...

Every time I think about last night I find myself smiling. I’m feeling truly privileged and blessed to have been in the company I was in. I made several exciting contacts which I hope will result in some fruitful business relationships. I also sold quite a bit of product which was an added bonus, as I didn’t really intend to ‘set up shop’ there – however the guests weren’t having any of that.

I really hope that other companies follow in the footsteps of the aforementioned companies in addition to Accenture, Capgemini, PKF, SAB Miller, RSA, Oracle and Mitsui and not forgetting London Metropolitan University and University of Kent. They should all really be proud of the amounts they raised.

To find out more about Million Makers and how your company can become involved, visit http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/support_us/million_makers.aspx

YOUNG ONES LISTEN UP, IT'S YOUR AMBASSADOR SPEAKING...

2010-01-25T00:02:00.004+00:00

The other week I was asked by the Prince's Trust to become one of their ambassadors. For those who read my blog Oprah Wannabe, it will come as no surprise that such a request has had me grinning for days. I love running my own businesses and love it even more that through it I'm able to inspire the younger generation. Times have changed from when I was 18 years old, working for free (whilst studying) and holding down a part-time job to gain experience in the industry I later wanted to have a career in. Nowadays you mention the words "work for free" to an over 16 - 21 year old and they'll look at you like you just dissed their Mum. So because of this I happily grab any opportunity I can to tell 'tomorrow's generation' my story. To tell them how they need to get off their backsides and go chase their dreams, whatever they may be, by doing whatever it is they need to do to gain the relevant experience to be good if not the best. They need to be told and told again that with self employment you get out what you put in; so should you be one of the younguns reading, apologises if I'm repeating myself.

So, my role as a Prince's Trust ambassador requires me to commit to four appointments per year and I have my first one tomorrow. I'll be giving a talk to a class of Year 11 kids about my Prince's Trust experience to date as well as my experience of running a business. I haven't quite worked out exactly what I want to say, I've been mulling over it the last few days and will jot my plan later tonight, once I've defrosted my toes and eaten some dinner, (I type this sat at the Emi & Ben stall in Greenwich market). Whatever approach I do decide to take, I hope I'm able to keep them engaged and I hope they are receptive to what I have to say. I suppose I better make sure I park the turquoise Almera 10 streets away, as I don't want to be pelted with eggs, or have cheap school toilet roll stuck on my back due to being uncool.

Wish me luck.

MY RADIO AND TV DEBUT

2009-12-03T00:25:00.001+00:00

Screen grab of me - don't laugh I'm in the middle of talking hence the expression!

Three weeks ago (Monday 9th) I was asked by The Prince’s Trust if I would like to do a radio and TV interviews on Radio 5 Live and BBC News. My initial reaction was “hell yes” what brilliant PR this will be for the business (Emi & Ben) as well as for me as an aspiring business woman. Then moments later it started to sink in... “live radio and television”. Oh my god.
I had less than 24 hours to get nervous about it which I think was a blessing in disguise, had I had time to fret I probably would have drove myself crazy.

Anyhow the opportunity came about as a result of some research the Prince’s Trust had commissioned which showed young people were still setting up new businesses despite the recession, this is where I came in as they wanted me to talk about my experiences and the challenges (if any) I faced whilst setting up Emi & Ben during the current financial climate. There was also another angle to the story as one of the broadsheets had been privy to a leaked Labour document which stated the party were going to axe training budgets for young people. The Prince’s Trust Marketing and Communications Director Paul Brown (what a lovely man) was made available to comment on this aspect, so at least I wasn’t doing the interviews alone.

Morning came around quick, I was awake by 3am, ready for my 4.30am pick up from Add & Lee which was taking me straight to the BBC studio in White City. I felt quite alert and I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I’d be.

When I arrived at the reception I was met by one of the show’s runners and taken straight up to the studio area. The Paul soon arrived with the PR Manager (Lucy – again another lovely person – actually everyone I’ve ever met at the Prince’s Trust are genuine nice people, must be part of the hiring criteria). Within 15 minutes we were in the studio, put in our positions with our mics all set. We were being interviewed on the Monday breakfast show ‘Wake up to Money’, so it was no surprise that the two presenters seemed quite serious people, nothing like my usual breakfast presenters of ‘Choice’ Martin and Lucy.

The entire interview ended up being approx 5 – 7 minutes long with me talking for most of it and it was fine... I didn’t have anything to worry about. The presenters asked me general questions like why I started the business and how I found running a business during the recession, etc and they even gave me good plugs at the beginning and the end of the interview ; name checking the business and our locations of trading.

The presenter decided he’d like to wrap up the interview by asking me what advice I would give to any budding entrepreneurs out there who were listening, to which I commented on them going out to get experience in their field and that they should know their craft inside out. My mouth then continued to talk and I ended with some stupid, cringe worthy line saying “knowledge is power”. I thought vomit was about to fall on my lap as the word “power” rolled off my tongue. All I could think of was “twat, twat, twat”. I mean it may not sound like anything now, but if you heard it in the context of how I said it you would understand. I mean my whole family and friends cracked up laughing altogether when they came over to my house the same evening for a ‘surprise’ screening of both pieces (as arranged sweetly by my not so better half – just playing babe!), so I know I sounded like a complete moron.

After a few hours down time we were back in the studio this time in the television side of the building for the BBC News live interview. As we sat in greenroom having our make up done (yeah, I know I ain’t no superstar but yes I had it done and I’m glad I did as the guy who went in before me had a forehead that was shining for miles and he didn’t look like that seconds before he went in, so I now completely understand why make up is needed for TV). Anyway I digress, none other than the champ David Hayes walk in (he is still fine in real life)... as it was two days after he had won his fight against the beast (the opponents name escapes me) in Germany, so he was in to talk about his win. Nothing more to add about David except for he is fine.

When it was our turn to go into the studio, they called us in led us to be seated whilst the news headlines were rolling and then cued us that they’d start the interview once the Berlin Wall anniversary story was over. All I could see was my big head in the monitors in front; that really put me off! I nearly burst our laughing as all I could see was my boyf and my good friends Fiona and Delali taking the piss out of the size of my head (like they always do)... I had to re focus quick.

To close this story which seems to now be dragging out, the TV interview went well, I don’t think I appeared nervous and I said what I needed to say – well actually in all the talking I did I didn’t say the flipping company name! I even had a jar of one of the body butters on the table, but was concentrating so much on what I was saying that I forgot to pick it up to sneakily show off the branding! Cha... next time, I’m sure there will be many more, I don’t intend to stop there – no way.

IS IT ALL WORTH IT?

2009-05-14T16:53:00.001+01:00

The start of this week was really good, work wise. I had made progress with some new business leads for the PR side of things, getting closer to contracts being signed off. Also one of the other ongoing projects was ticking over nicely and I was now beginning to see my ‘hard graft’ being worth it. Fast forward to today and I’m wondering what have I let myself in for. Leaving an extremely well paid job within a highly successful agency to go it alone and start up other ventures too? Was I stupid? Now I have to work every single god damn day if I want to see money a pay cheque at the end of each month, with no real holiday entitlement or sick pay arranged. Doesn’t matter if ‘boss lady’ may have interfered with my sleep, leaving me to survive on 2 hours or more (which has been the case twice this week and last), or better yet, if I’m not feeling well – I’ve got to still pick myself up, dust myself off and get on with it.
Cha’, I suppose I’m just feeling the strain and having a dud day? All I want is for the ‘stress’ to go away immediately. Not in a month, not in 6 months, just right now. I suppose I should just “Breathe slow, count from 1 to 10”? I’m so feeling your tune right now Alesha.

SELF EMPLOYMENT + A SICK CHILD + A SICK MAN = WRONG RESULT!

2009-03-31T22:30:00.003+01:00

So, I’ve got a client presentation that requires my undivided attention. I have some fashion news for one of my clients which I need to pitch to ALL national fashion journalists, from directors to assistants and I have some legal documentation I need to sort for one of my other business ventures. To top it off, boss lady has caught some friggin’ eye infection so I’m having to keep her at home (as I don’t want my nephew to catch it if they’re both at my parents house). If that wasn’t enough I have a sick man home too and whilst he isn't 'asking' for me to do much for him, you know that is not what he is thinking or how he would like it to be.

Sick man is too sick to look after daughter so I’m having to do so, which just means plenty of attention, playing, carrying, playing and so on, whilst trying to balance getting ‘some’ work done. I would normally not bother attempting to juggle the two, as if she’s normally sick, as her mother I like to be the one to look after her. However, those motherly actions need to be dashed out the window this week, as it’s very important for me to complete these tasks ASAP!

So Lord, if ever I prayed I needed you to split me into two people – this is the time to grant that prayer please. Or you could just give me my red cape, (with an ‘S’ on my chest) and make me Superwoman, as it’s become apparent, so many people think I am already.

Which ever you decide please let it be done by 7am tomorrow morning… thank you.

ARE WE NOT AS STRONG AS OUR PARENTS?

2009-03-24T21:42:00.000+00:00

Why is it I constantly hear myself moaning about how hard it is to achieve and maintain a quality lifestyle in the UK without killing yourself doing so? All I want is to be able to maintain a beautiful home (a la Grand Designs), enjoy at least one long haul holiday per year with my family (excluding the weekends away with the girls which I’m happy to do every six months or so). Enjoy regular spending sprees for things I desire and may not necessary need. I think you get my drift right?

I don’t believe I EVER heard either of my parents complain about any aspect of their jobs, whilst they raised my brother, sister and I, so why is it different with me and my friends now? We’re all hardworking, like I mean, really hardworking – as per my parents, but again I say, they never use to moan. Well never in front of us kids. If my 1 year old daughter could speak now, she would run her mouth about how I moan about ‘how hard it all is working and maintaining a decent lifestyle in the UK’… I’d probably have to slap her face to shut her up. So I ask, what’s the difference from the days when our parents were on the daily grind and now? Or maybe there isn’t any difference and we’re just not as strong as our parents were back in the day?
I ask this question as I recently found myself blubbering on the train home from working at a client’s office, solely for the reason of me finding the day so tiring as well as depressing (Watching people commute to work , rushing like robots seriously depresses me. Try watching people tomorrow from when you arrive at your home train station and I’m sure you’ll know what I mean). Granted, I was ill with a chest infection, however it didn’t warrant a grown woman sobbing (I’m not lying, I had tears rolling down my face), on a packed train, whilst making the journey to my parents house to pick up the little miss. I suppose it also didn’t help that a journey which should have taken 1 hour and 15 minutes, ended up taking 2 hours 30 minutes, due to parts of the Northern Line being suspended. But still I ask ‘was this a reason to cry the way I did?’

When I arrived at my parents, I was greeted by my older brother, Mum and my daughter. My brother took one look at my face and said ‘what’s wrong sis’, to which I replied ‘I’m tired. I’m just so tired’ then preceded to cry again whilst propped up at the bottom of the stairs in the hallway. ‘Oh, I forgot I failed to mention earlier in this post this was only my SECOND day working in-house as a freelance consultant for this PR agency; (you know the agency I mentioned in my last post), so what the hell was going on with me! I can laugh about it now, but I tell you, had you’d seen me on the train or saw me at my parents house, I was inconsolable, the whole of my chin was wet with tears.

So back to the question, I don’t think it makes me weak having this mini ‘drama queen’ moment. I just think our parents were more tolerable back in the day with the BS life threw at them. I also think these two days in particular, took me back to a place where I don’t EVER care to be again. I think the most important lesson I learnt was that it made me realise how lucky I am to live the life I currently live. Being self employed comes with its own negatives; however after stepping back into my old world for only 48 hours, I know the positives out weight the negatives by far. For those two days I had been hit in the face with a reminder (which actually wasn’t at all harsh), of how my life ‘use’ to be. If that’s not enough motivation to get me refocused when things start looking a bit blurry (and believe me it gets like that sometimes), then I don’t know what is.

I know many people have responsibilities and are not in a position to quit their jobs in order to pursue their dreams, but how about you try to make ‘mini’ changes into shaping your life to what you ‘want it’ to be as well as to help make the ‘job’ more bearable if you haven’t already? Something one of my close friends said to me the other day ‘if you continue to live your life a particular way, then your path will continue to be the same’. Even though I feel fortunate in terms of my working life, I know there are probably other aspects of my life where I could benefit from reciting this sentence at least once a day, in order to get to exactly where I want to be. Watch this space, I’ll let you know when I get there.

MISSING MY EX COLLEAGUES...

2009-03-18T23:41:00.009+00:00

As regular readers will know I’m a self employed publicist/PR manager as well as working in a freelance capacity for various PR agencies. This week I was hired to work with an agency on a high street consumer retail account as they had a big story to publicise to the national press, which was to be supported by a big advertising campaign launching the same day.

The agency is relatively small (under 10 people) and on arrival, those who greeted me (the managing director and new business manager) appeared to be nice. I was shown into the boardroom where I was told one of the team would come over to brief me as the lady who I was to report into was out of the office all day, overseeing radio interviews with the client.

Rewind to 2004 – 05 when I worked for my ex employer, where it wasn’t abnormal for me and my colleagues nick named Gay boy, Asian chick, Filipino gal and White G to have a ‘Christina Aguilera’ break each day for probably two months or so, to watch her video to the single ‘Dirty’ as we thought it was the hottest music video ever! We'd be running around the office, striking a pose, attempting to recreate the video as much as possible - it was so much fun. Your probably thinking, ‘you used to do this at work? Well... yes! We used to piss around so much it was unreal. Don’t get me wrong, it was and still is one of the hardest working PR agencies I’ll probably ever work for; however we did know how to enjoy ourselves whilst getting the job done. Fast forward to today and I’m currently sat in an office of silence. This may not be a big deal to some of you, but this is unheard of in ‘my world’ of PR and its uber hard to adjust to this type of working environment. Listening to music helped to zone me into the world, mindset I needed to be in to get my client work done, whilst working hard at my desk. Total silence, distracts me and for the past two days I’ve spent quite a bit of time looking around the office at everyone else, staring at them – for no apparent reason, while my mind tells me how dull it actually is here and how I desperately wish I was with my old colleagues, Gay boy, Asian chick, Filipino gal and White G. Hey guys, if you're reading, Black G misses you and the rest of the crew.

NEW YEAR, NEW FOCUS...

2009-02-17T23:46:00.001+00:00

First post for the year… sorry it’s been so long. I’ve been deliberating about whether I should continue with this particular blog, as I have another one which works as a weekly e-zine and was contemplating combining them… I’m yet to decide. Probably won’t do it, but hey this is my excuse.

Anyhow, I’ve been a bit of conundrum in regards to work. Before the New Year came about, I felt a bit in limbo, as I have several projects which I’m trying to start up/ as well as run at the same time. Combine these with the PR business which has several individual clients under it and you may begin to see what I saw; I was spreading myself waaaaay too thinly. I was hiding behind the excuse that once upon a time when I was working with my ex employer, I used to have to manage several different clients and teams of employees at once, but the two situations are TOTALLY different. Plus, I wasn’t caring for a baby (now toddler) at the time.

So… I’ve decided to put a few of the other projects on the back burner and concentrate on developing three for the time being. I plan to update you on them shortly; however I just need to make sure I have certain processes in place before talking about them.

DOES WORKING FROM HOME TURN YOU FROM ‘DELICIOUS’ GIRLFRIEND TO ‘TASTELESS’ GAL? PART 1

2008-12-11T15:47:00.003+00:00

My answer… it did slightly, but I’m working on it after having been given a kick up the arse.

You see, working from home comes with many plus points. Not having to commute into the office is bloody fantastic as it means not having to smell a city man’s foul armpit. It also means you don’t have to watch chicks turning into a completely different person whilst they transform their ‘face’ before reaching the office. It means no need to be fighting through the wind and rain to get to work every day and it also means you no longer have to look at the junior members of your team, telling them telepathically that its fine for you to be late as you have a valid reason, but it isn’t fine for them to be late due to a hangover or the fact they had next to no sleep, after picking up ‘some fit guy’ which resulted in them staying at his house or checking into a hotel. Now let’s list the negatives… it means not being able to have your daily dose of Martin and Lucy on Choice FM coming through your phone, it means not being able to pick up the essential morning read of the Metro Newspaper. Lastly, but more importantly, it means missing out on the walk from home to the train station, walking between stations to change lines and doing the 10 minute walk from the train station to the office, then doing it all over again in the evening. What’s negative about the last reason I hear you ask? Let me tell you… this was the only bit of regular exercise my body received.

I tried the whole gym thing whilst working for my previous employer, (I actually worked in a gym for a year an a half back in the day), but as the pressures of PR got more intense, the last thing I wanted to do after leaving the office between the hours of 7- 11pm was go and do a work out. I decide to make some time to exercise and signed up for a weekly swimming class which I loved, but since giving birth to boss lady I haven’t returned, however this is all about to change… I promise you.

Rewind to 1 hour ago... I just came back from an appointment with my nurse, just to do a routine check… the usual stuff. During which she ask me to jump on the scales as she wanted to record my weight. I stepped on and she did her checks then told me it was fine for me to step down. She then said I was around 6 pounds or so… I asked her to convert this into stones and after fiddling with her scale converter, she said “you’re 11 stone”. A bit shaken by the ’11 stone comment’, I then said, “is my weight ok for my height” whilst putting my UGGs back on my feet and picking up my blackberry as I was attempting to keep myself busy so I could ‘just about hear’ what she about to say if it was good news and block it out if it was bad news, does that makes sense? “Actually, I was about to tell you that you’re over weight and you need to go on a diet” she replied so matter – of fact -ly. She continued to say “I would say you should look to lose around 1 ½ stones”… I don’t think my head has ever shot up so fast.

In my shock and vex-ness I called my friend FS as I needed to vent, there was no way I was calling my boyfriend. The first thing he would do would laugh and sing “who ate all the pies”, in his wack cockney voice. “I’m officially fat” I told her to which she started to laugh. I explained I had been with the nurse and what she had said to which she replied “Ronks, what you chubby now? I thought you were losing weight”. If my hand could go through the phone and give her one slap across her face her head would be rolling side to side about now. After I finished venting and she finished taking the mick, she ended the phone call with “see you tomorrow fatty”.

Luckily for me earlier this week I enrolled for a Yoga and Dance class as well as re enrolling for my weekly swimming class at the local leisure centre. Cha’ it’s as if God knew what was coming… I’ll be damn if I turn into a self employed, mother of one, who has lost her way from the path of looking good to looking mash up. I’ve already been indirectly dissed re my daily attire of head scarf, tracksuit bottoms and vest top by my boyfriend, (this is another post for another time, PART 2 of this post actually) – and I know the first day his Mum saw what I wore during the day whilst working at home, left her to stare at me longer than she had to. She had only come down into the office to say “morning” after all, why was she staring at me (in silence), 10 seconds after?

Anyway, today’s events have confirmed I need to get serious… I’m supposed to be ‘getting hot for 09’ – if I continue as I am, I’ll be far from ‘hot’ and more like ‘not’ on January 1st 2009.

REALISE WHEN IT'S TIME TO SACK THE WEB DESIGNER…

2008-12-03T14:30:00.002+00:00

So, I’ve been trying to make contact with my web designer for the last two months now. I’ve left numerous voice messages, texts and emails and yet, nothing. No calls returned, no email… nada.

So when I called earlier this morning and his colleague answered, I said politely, ‘Hi can I speak to XXXXX please’, to which she replied ‘yes, who’s calling’. I politely gave my name and she then lowered the mouth piece which allowed me to hear her tell him who was on the phone. Seconds later, she returns to my call and says ‘Err, XXXXX is just taking the rubbish out, he said he will call you back’.

‘Taking the rubbish out?’ Are you for real? If taking your rubbish out is far more important than taking a call from a paying client who has been chasing you for the past eight weeks, then there is no hope. So yes, I think its about time I resign my business from them as well as forget about sending any business their way. Obviously the ‘credit crunch’ isn’t affecting them in anyway whatsoever.

CAN A ‘WORKING MUM’ REALLY WORK FROM HOME WITH THE KIDS PRESENT?

2008-11-23T18:35:00.001+00:00

‘Hell no’. If you're an employer reading this and you have an employee negotiating full time pay on a four day or less week, with her protesting she is capable of doing her job from home whilst her two year old or under is present, then a) she is yet to try it or b) she's simply lying to you.

As regularly readers know, I'm self employed and work from home; however I work from home minus the presence of my 10 month 'boss lady'. Unfortunately for me and my older sister, but fortunately for my parents, they have run off to relax in Nigeria for two whole months! Do I have a problem with this? ‘Hell yeah’. Ok, well not a problem per say as it is their time to take long breaks, after working so hard for so many years, but from Monday - Friday, 9am - 6.30 (or whenever I'm ready), our parents normally look after boss lady and my nephew of 20 months. Worries of dropping off the baby late? ‘No, I’m my own boss and my parents don’t have a time where boss lady has to be dropped off in the morning. Any worries about being late to pick her up? ‘No. She’s with her grandparents, so they relish in any time they have with her.’ Worries about being charged a late fee because I missed my train home from work? ‘No, because 1) I work at home which is literally 10 minutes by car from my parents and 2) because if they ever charged me a late fee, I'd just laugh in their face.’J

It’s been two weeks since they've gone and I can honestly say I've probably done an hour or two's work in these two weeks, whilst having boss lady present. Admittedly, I've been off sick with a bad viral infection for three weeks, however even if I wanted to, I wouldn't and couldn't have got a few solid hours of work completed each day. Between the coughing up of my guts and mini naps the 'princess' has, by the time I get into the rhythms of work, I have to stop, due to madam wanting a feed or to be changed... Or even just wanting a bit of attention... (Sounds like I'm dealing with her father?! Just joking babe!).

So taking this all into consideration, how the hell is a working mum of a baby or toddler suppose to work, ensuring she achieves the same level of productivity she would have achieved back in the office? Answer? It’s not possible. For work to be productive at home I would hope you would all be realistic. The child should be looked after by others, whether it be the grandparents (if you’re lucky like me to have them around, living near) or with a childminder (sorry, I fell your pain re the cost of a second mortgage – cos’ it might as well be the case, the amount they charge now a days!). Either way, when you plan to become pregnant, these are one of the many things you and your partner NEED to consider. Will you become a housewife/stay at home Mum? Will you go back to work and send your newborn to a childminder/nursery? Or will your man be the one to change the nappies during the day whilst you go out to earn the cheddar? Either way, it’s something which needs to be discussed as soon as you’ve finished peeing on the stick.

'CHANGE' MY NEW FAVOURITE WORD

2008-11-23T15:55:00.003+00:00

I remembered I sent the below email to friends earlier this month and thought it would be something good to share with you all too.

Hi Friends,

Barack Obama’s win to become the 44th US President on the 4 November this year, did something to a majority of people across the world. It highlighted to most that ‘CHANGE’ is possible. Change in perceptions, family life, work, love – anything. To me, it hit home that anything is possible. Any dream, aspiration which I possess, runs with the knowledge that there is no reason why I won’t be able to achieve these aspirations, providing I have the passion, motivation and focus required to do so. After this monumental day, I made a promise to myself that if I had the ability to assist with changing any negative in life into a positive, I would stop, take time out and do just that. I hope you will too.

PREMATURE FLOSSIN’

2008-11-14T15:09:00.002+00:00

I’m not one to floss in order to show off, I just like nice things. Yes I admit, I do have expensive taste – however having ‘expensive taste’ is not something to be frowned upon. Well I don’t think it is.

I work hard at home in my role as a mother and girlfriend as well and at work. I want to be a success story, career wise and I want to eventually be in a position were I am able to ‘give back’ and work with those who are in a less fortunate position. I know I’m extremely ambitious and with such ambition the ‘want’ for the ‘nicer things in life’ spears its head from time to time.

Two years ago I was in a financial position where I was able to have the cash to buy myself a decent car. I had been through an emotional draining few months (and years), so I believed at the time I was allowed to ‘treat’ myself as in my mind, ‘it’s was bloody well due’. After much hmmming and ahhhing I decided on a BMW Mini then at the last minute decided to buy a second hand silver Audi TT (after finding a good deal on auto trader which I thought would be silly to miss out on). The car was and is fantastic. I love everything about it and I suppose to an extent, I loved what it said about me. Being a self employed black woman, I enjoyed when clients, saw me pull up or pull away in this beauty, they would have an 'additional' amount of respect for me; as being the owner of such a car, comes with many preconceptions which I believe, were mostly positive. Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t the reason why I bought the car, however after purchasing it, this did make me smile whilst driving it.

Yesterday I took my car to the local Audi garage to be serviced and this morning my mechanic Clayton, called to inform me the turbo on my car had gone and the cost of replacing this part, plus labour was up to £2000. In my surprise, I didn’t scream ‘what’ or have a cry uncontrollably. Maybe the shock hadn’t hit me. I’ve been quite calm about it, up until now. Not long before I started writing this blog, I can admit, I did quietly sob into my hands. Anyhow, my options at present are to either pay the £2k and fix the car, or sell it at a discounted price and smile with the small change I get from it, which won’t be a lot considering people will now probably view the car as a ‘faulty’ car. I’m still looking at my options and currently looking at all angles in order to get the best deal, but one thing I have learned is that whilst I had the cash to purchase such a prestigious car two years ago , it didn’t mean I could AFFORD it. If I could afford it, then I would be able to afford the £400 plus price tag for servicing of the car (every 6 months or so) and also afford to replace such ‘expensive’ parts which need replacing when they’ve decided to die... credit crunch or no credit crunch. As much as I’m doing well with my work, I’m no ‘baller’. It’s a great shame I’ve had to learn this HARSH and EXPENSIVE lesson only now. I suppose I should be grateful that I’m dealing with this minor set back, rather than making a million and then spending it all only to then become bankrupt a la Will Smith style. If you’ve ever watched his True Hollywood Story on channel E! on sky, you understand why he talks so passionately re him appreciating his current financial position and the fact that he is thankful as well as grateful to God for each day as you don’t know what tomorrow brings… Whilst my misfortune may be a smaller price to pay in comparison to what Will experienced, it burns like I've just had 'Extra Hot' Peri Peri chicken from Nandos and its the next day. This is one lesson that I will definitely remember for the future. So friends, the next time you see me driving a car like my beloved TT, is the day when I’m a bonafide flosser’. A flosser who hasn’t hit her flossing status prematurely. A flosser, who owns her 5 bedroom house in Dulwich village with a field as the back garden.

Does anyone know where the nearest 'Ford' dealership is? Actually, where's my Oyster card?

DIZZEE RASCAL ON NEWSNIGHT

2008-11-10T15:03:00.002+00:00

Not sure what to say other than, 'you gotta' love him'!

OBAMA’S WIN CONFIRMS ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE

2008-11-05T22:44:00.002+00:00

Last night I set the alarm on my blackberry to go off for 5am as I wanted to watch the US election results come in live. As I woke to the beep and turned my alarm off, my bberry began to beep a few times more, only this time it was notifying me of text messages coming in. I ran downstairs and started shaking my boyfriend to wake up as he had fallen asleep on the sofa in front of the TV which was now on standby – I had left him there at 1.30am earlier. I held my phone in my hand as I knew what the subject matter of the multiple texts was. It was only ever going to be something of significance. Plus the Facebook icon on my blackberry started flashing that I had 6 new messages/notifications. Something ‘good’ was most definitely happening.
I picked the remote up and hit the Sky button and right in front of me the words “BARACK OBAMA ELECTED US PRESIDENT” ran at the bottom of the screen. As I jumped up and looked at my boyfriend, a shiver went down my spine. The television coverage I had watched prior, before going upstairs to feed the little one, seemed pretty sure Barack Obama was going to become the 44th President of the United States, however seeing it on the screen and on the numerous text messages I had now viewed, was mind blowing if not to say the least.
Never in my lifetime did I think we would see such history taking place. I mean, I haven’t really followed the election campaigns as such, didn’t think there was any point as there would be “no way” America, a country where the KKK was notoriously present, a country which told Rosa Parks, a 42 year old African American woman to give her seat up so a white man could sit down instead, a country which saw the assassination of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X , a country where the film and book ‘Mississippi Burnings’ which is based on a true story and is something which captured me way back in the 1990’s during an English lesson; something, which still affects me to this day… no freggin’ way. Well, was I so damn wrong. Barack Obama has made it. On January 20, 2009 Obama will enter the ‘White House’. Jeez… saying it as I type is still making me shudder, however I have a fat ass grin on my face.
This is something which has affected me and it seems a majority of people whether Black, Asian, White, Chinese, young, old in such a good way, it’s unreal. I am so elated Mr Obama is in the White House. That he is the 44th US President. That he, an African American, is now the LEADER of the Western world!
I received an email from a close friend this morning which read
“This is not just a triumph for the Black Americans...... This is truly a monumental day for ALL Black people!! ....

It was truly touching to see my brothers and sisters striding with pride on their way to work this morning, despite the worries of the credit crunch....

..It's time for us to paint the White house BLACK!! Then the House of Parliament next!

I pray that Almighty God will keep Obama safe from the hatred of those who wish to keep us down as a people..... May he have a productive and successful administration

I will tell of this day to my grandchildren with pride...”
Her email echoes everything I’m thinking and feeling about this historical moment.
For me, I don’t actually NEED to see a black Prime Minister in 10 Downing Street to know we as black people CAN make it to be people in positions of power. Today has been etched in my mind that “Change” is possible. Anyone who tells me I can’t achieve my dreams, my aspirations, my ‘Oprah Wannabe’ goals, will just have to hear me utter the words of Mr Obama “YES WE (in this case, I) CAN”.
What an inspiration Mr Obama and his wife Michelle are. I pray the good Lord will guide and direct them to absolute success.

HAVING YOUR FINGERS IN MANY PIES…

2008-10-23T22:04:00.000+01:00

Is this wrong? This OPRAH WANNABE is very ambitious and in order for me to get it right with one of my many business venture ideas (if not all), I have to have my fingers in many pies… right? Some may say this is greedy, but is it? I’m 29 years old so I’m still young enough to have the energy to juggle several things at once. (Well this may not be the case since I had ‘boss lady’ and lost my brain cells during pregnancy and they haven’t all return during post pregnancy), but you know what I mean. I’m determined to be successful in my endeavours and with my ambition, comes a brain that doesn’t stop working overtime, trying to developing yet another business ideas which could possibly work. You know, the money focussed ones, not the ones which I have a particular passion for or interest to. Those ideas I will do regardless, as they bring happiness to my life and is what I enjoy.

I used to be quite an open individual, telling anyone who would listen my life plans. One day a friend of my ex, who I was close to at the time, said he loved my openness and my fearlessness. Openness to talk to anyone and fearlessness towards the people I was open to, stabbing me in the back with things we had discussed. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t and am not stupid enough to tell my life story and personal stuff to any old Tom, Dick or Harry, however, I do believe in giving people a chance and having a bit of trust up front… does this make sense? It’s the way my parents raised me… (Even if I do feel they both allow people to walk over them!) Anyway, my openness to talk about my business endeavours, life goals etc, skewed slightly when I started trying to build on my many ‘business ideas’ and those, or should I say one person in particular, who I considered to be closed to me, starting ‘watching’ me with his/her green eyes. Why can’t people just be happy for each other? Scrap that, why can’t people who you consider to be ‘friends’ just be happy for you. Instead when you phone or speak to them to let them know how you’re progressing in life, you hear or see in their eyes, that ‘green light’ flickering. I’m able to spot it almost immediately nowadays and the times it happens, I’m extremely pissed off in the first instance. Eventually my vexness turns to motivation, but its annoying this happens amongst our peers, surely we should all support each other? I mean, all of my close girlfriends are ambitious, all doing their own thing and I know when they are excited, gushing over their recent achievements, I’m there gushing with them, after all, there is nothing like a successful woman. So why isn’t everyone like this? And why is it when I had a conversation with someone about my business plans many moons ago, they said to me “you’re greedy, you have your fingers in too many pies”…

…In the words of the infamous So Solid Crew... “So many haters”…

WAKE UP! DRINK THE DAMN COFFEE!

2008-10-23T22:00:00.001+01:00

I’m so annoyed. During my 5 years working for my ex employer I refused to drink the drug they call coffee. Instead I would just open my big mouth, yawning to my hearts content then put my head back down to work. Fast forward to now, I’ve reached the age of 29, am a mother of a 9 month old baby girl, a house girl, girlfriend to a 30 + year old boyfriend, house girl, entrepreneur and a house girl. (For all you NON Africans reading this, a ‘house girl’ is basically the house skivvy who cooks, cleans and does everything else, you can’t be bothered to do). Anyway, I’m now struggling to stay awake past 11am and have been fighting this for the past three months or so. With the PR business doing well (thank the Lord), I’m getting busier each day, so in order for me to remain professional and meet all client targets/deadlines, I’m having to drink this poison. Vex, vex, vex.

AUNTY DID YOU LIE?

2008-10-15T13:09:00.004+01:00

Do you remember when Cheryl Cole was reported in the national tabloid press for apparently beating up on an ‘Aunty’ in the toilets of a night club? It’s like it had the same effect on black Britons. All of us routed for her on ITV’s reality show Popstars, when she was battling it out with the other Girls Aloud wannabe’s to make the band. I even remember voting for her and I only vote for those I truly like on this addictive but oh so necessary reality show! She came across so down to earth and was a popular choice by all, including the black general public. So when pictures of this Ghanaian Aunty appeared in all the red tops, I with every other black person was absolutely gutted, she had been reported to have APPARENTLY committed such an attack on another human being… especially an ‘elder’. You know how we have to have respect for our elders!

So, you can imagine the pain I’m now going through to stop myself from liking her, now she’s on The X Factor. Damn her! She comes across so personable, funny and REAL, which is why I’m sure we all liked her in the first place. I’m ashamed to admit, but I’ve even gone to the length of trying to justify my new like towards her, that maybe the media just sensationalised what happened. Maybe she did have an argument with ‘Aunty Comfort’ whilst in the club toilets and then Aunty claimed she was beaten up by her as she knew who Cheryl was! God I’m so fickle… I’m ashamed.
Plus, it doesn’t help that when she’s not busy looking like a W.A.G, which by the way is a look I can’t stand… All that big hair and oversized sunglasses which are clearly too big for their lollipop heads, I just don’t get. However, everyone has their off days and I believe of recent, Cheryl has more than made up for these fashion faux pas. Just check out these pictures of her looking, classy, pretty and on trend. Aghhh! I’m so gone! Fickle, fickle, fickle… that’s me. Hey, but seriously, Aunty could have made the whole thing up, I lie?

ETHNIC BUSINESSES WHO ARE FAILING TO MAKE USE OF VIDEO ONLINE ARE LOSING OUT.

2008-10-15T09:42:00.005+01:00

It's not only 'fun' stuff I write about on my blog, remember I'm an 'OPRAH WANNABE' and if you're a follower of my blog, I'm sure you are one too - so get reading the brief article below. Not only is it interesting, it may give you food for thought for your business.

VIDEO HAS BECOME AN ESSENTIAL ASPECT OF WEBSITE DESIGN, BRAND COMMUNICATIONS AND SALES GENERATION. Many Black & Minority Ethinic (BME) businesses affected by the credit crunch are restructuring and re-assessing their online activities, whilst print, radio and tv audiences are dwindling, they are looking for more cost effective ways to market, network, promote and find new areas of to develop their businesses.

An Ofcom study by the government reported findings showing that, of all internet users in the UK, a higher proportion of people from Ethnic Minority Groups have broadband (80%) than the UK average (74%).(*1)

With the Ofcom report providing further information about mobile usage and DVD ownership, this study information would proved a useful in gaining insight into consumer trends, to leading to new sales opportunities and revenue.

Those businesses outside the BME sector are getting involved in the web video revolution, with the rise of the Google owned Youtube, many saw the benefits of properly managed video marketing campaigns, those same businesses are using all web platforms to get their brand, staff, marketing and promotion out there, generating new business, new leads and sourcing competitive suppliers.

HD Productions an online media production and web video marketing company, that advises business and provides training for those looking at creating a more effective web presence, got involved with creating video for the internet for clients, gave a few reasons as to why video is as important as a website.

“ We felt that, many people in the business world are hearing the buzzwords like - ‘podcast’, ‘web 2.0’, 'RSS', ‘social networking’, and wonder how they can market their products and services with them, we're able to simplify the jargon and show how it can work for their business. It's not hard having to explain the benefits of an online 24 hour sales presence.”

“Even newspapers such as The Sun, The Mirror commission and use video online to promote news items and reach out to a larger audience, than their paying readership. More recently *The BBC announced that they will launch six new Youtube channels, as a way to getting a larger audience via a multilingual news service.”

Web video as an advertising, sales and marketing tool, is more cost effective than television, radio or print.
With some of the world’s largest companies are now marketing their products extensively through the internet through video, at sites like YouTube, MySpace and other social networks.

It is up the BME businesses to take note or get left behind in the ever increasing online market, with web video topping 12 billions views in May, this figure has several more years to get even larger and accounting for more than fifty per cent of internet traffic by 2012. It would be wise to seek advice at the earliest opportunity to get your web video strategy right.

The above article was taken from a recent post on www.ethnicnow.com

DID YOU KNOW...

2008-10-15T09:34:00.001+01:00

BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) groups make up 7.9% of the UK’s population, 29% of London’s population.

By 2051, 29% of the population will be from an ethnic background.

Since the expansion of the EU in 2004, over 600,000 Polish people have arrived in the UK.

Black African and Bangladeshi are the fastest growing ethnic populations in the UK
BAME groups have a spending power of £32 billion a year, set to rise to £85 billion by 2010.

Londoners speak over 300 languages and belong to 14 different faith groups.

There are over 250,000 ethnic minority businesses in the UK.

By 2010 ethnic minorities will be in the majority across all the UK’s major cities

SOMETHING TO INSPIRE ALL OPRAH WANNABE'S OUT THERE

2008-10-06T22:37:00.004+01:00

Inspiration to stay focused on your goals comes in many forms. From reading an inspirational book or watching and inspirational film. From talking to friends and family, throwing ideas back and forth, or observing your daily surroundings. My inspiration of recent has come from a British born Nigerian living in the UK, named Paula B Sofowora. A lawyer for financial services organisation Zurich, Sofowora has created a book called "Discover Nigeria". It’s a book to help readers explore the West African country and discover what it’s really like. With an exciting range of colourful photographs and up-to-date information, the book covers all aspects of Nigeria, from history and geography to family life, ethnic groups, sports and cooking. It also touches on famous Nigerians all around the world, such as musicians Seal, Fela Kuti and Sade, mathematician Phillip Emeagwali and Hollywood actors Sophie Okonedo, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Sofowora says, “Discover Nigeria gives those with an interest in learning about different countries the opportunity to discover the history, language and culture of one of the richest countries in Africa”.

“Discover Nigeria” is the first volume of the “Discover” series which Sofowora has written and is a useful resource to support the National Curriculum in Citizenship, Geography, History and Religious Education at Key Stages 2 and 3. She has also written two brightly illustrated picture books about Ijapa, a Nigerian trickster, for children aged 5- 9 and is editor of the quarterly online magazine Naija Konnections which can be found at www.amlappublishing.com.

I've had the privilege to have viewed all three of Sofowora's books before they reached the shelves at Waterstones and Amazon and I can tell you they are impressive. It's not often I've personally come across a black individual producing a product, who has simultaneously been able to carry themselves professionally, whilst having produced an equally professional product, which they plan to sell to the general public. There is normally some excuse... due to lack of time, resource, whatever - they are unable to produce a squeaky clean quality looking product. Listen up peeps. There is no excuse for laziness when it comes to work. Be the best you can be as I'm sure there may be other factors the general public or potential employer may plan to scrutinise you on, even if their reasons for doing so are unfair – that’s life. Don't give them the opportunity to embarrass you on something you could have rectified before hand.

Sofowora has a day time job which I would imagine is extremely stressful. A lawyer at a financial services company? Of course she's stressed, with next to no time to do anything else. Especially in this CREDIT CRUNCH climate. However she knew for her to be taken seriously in the publishing world and as a black woman, she would need to come correct. She should be an inspiration to all Oprah Wannabe's. If she can do it, why can't we?

“Discover Nigeria” is published by Amlap Publishing and is available from December 2008 at all major bookshops and on line at www.amlappublishing.com, retailed at £14.99. ISBN 978-0-9546116-2-0. If you found out a bookstore doesn’t stock the book, make sure to leave the book details so they CAN start stocking it. Remember… its all about supply and demand 

ESTATE PLANNING

2008-10-06T17:35:00.004+01:00

Dan was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the
family business.

When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a wife with which to share his fortune.

One evening at an investment meeting he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Her natural beauty took his breath away. "I may look like just an ordinary man, he said to her, but in just a few years, my father will die, and I'll inherit 20 million pounds".

Impressed, the woman obtained his business card and three days later, she became his stepmother.

Women are so much better at estate planning than men.

Too funny! This is something that was forwarded to me which made me laugh out loud and some may say it is right up my street as an Oprah Wannabe. Not that I would actually do this... Or would I? "Babe what did you say your friends, cousin's Uncle was called again? You know the millionaire"?