Challenges, great motivator for success — Popoola The Creative Director, Temiwrites, Miss Temitope Popoola, 24, tells NIKE POPOOLA her journey into the entrepreneurial world What is your academic qualification? I studied Fisheries and Aquaculture Technology at the Federal University of Technology Akure for my first degree. What are the things you do as an entrepreneur? Basically, I write. Occasionally, I find myself marketing for one company or the other. I have interest in trading. But I haven’t started exploring that potential. How did you develop interest in blogging and writing? I picked up writing as a child. Although, I’ve always been a science student, reading books opened me up to other possibilities. When I started, I found out I could hide myself in it. It became a haven for me like an emotional cave and over the years, it simply got better while I got more immersed in it. After I launched my first book, publishing got more difficult and with school, there just wasn’t time. I didn’t want to lose it; so, I started blogging. How did you develop writing skill? I didn’t know I had it in me. I was 11 years old and I wanted to try out something different. A National Youth Service Corps member, who served in my secondary school, came into my class and wanted to keep us busy. The young teacher asked everyone to either write on or draw something unique. I knew my classmates were going to write stories or draw and I wanted to stand out. So, I wrote a poem, ‘The cloud’. When he checked our works, he was very impressed with what I wrote. Before the end of that day, I wrote more than 10 poems. That was how I started. How do you use the writing talent and blogging platform to make money? It’s a shame to say our reading culture is dwindling and many people prefer watching films or drama to reading. And with the influx of many satellite dishes, it keeps getting more difficult. There should be a balance; we should encourage our kids to read more and feed their minds. Another thing that people prefer to see or read about is gossip. So, finding people to support or buy literature books is somehow difficult. What is the relevance of what you do (writing & blogging) to the society? It’s helping in the development of skills and talents. I am excited seeing people looking up to me and getting inspired to start writing or exploring their potential. It shows what one is doing is good for the society. Also, people get to share their opinions when sensitive issues or even difficult matters are being discussed on the blog. Asides from these, do you do other business activities? Sometimes, I try to keep myself busy by marketing for companies and delving into educational consulting firms. I’d be fulfilled to see people reading more and developing themselves intellectually. What advice do you have for jobless graduates? I urge them to Keep their hands busy and remember that the devil uses idle hands. Do you have any idea of what the government can do to reduce unemployment in the country? The government could reduce unemployment by supporting graduates financially. This will help them to start their own businesses and will not have to keep searching for jobs. Do you share the view that education is not necessary to become an entrepreneur? I feel it is very important to be educated. I will advise people out there to try as much as possible to go to school. Although, we have people who didn’t go to school and are highly successful in the society today; some of them are starting to register in one school or the other now after they have made enough money. Besides, today’s world has become sophisticated and you need quality education to be able to flow well and excel in whatever trade or business you do. What are the things that motivate you in life? A lot of things; my mum to start with, seeing the amount of hope she has in me makes me want to spin and do more. I feel I can’t let this woman down. Good music too does it for me. It helps me to relax and put me in the right frame of mind. But generally, challenges, as draining as they can be, I find out that they give me that push and makes me want do more. What are the challenges you have encountered in developing your entrepreneurial skills? There have been quite a handful; the environment itself makes you feel like you are on the wrong path. But that is where focus and self-determination give you all the strength you need to carry on and achieve success. What is your target for the business in the next five years? In the next five years, I hope to have gained enough ground in this field, to prove to people that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. I want to see people stand up and do their own thing. I want my business to thrive well with God on my side. Does an intending entrepreneur need to wait for a huge capital before starting his or her dream business? As an entrepreneur, you don’t need to have millions of naira before you venture into a business. Once you have done investment appraisal to know the viability and acceptability of that dream business, you can then go on with whatever you have. Diligence and focus wouldn’t let you down. What can be done to develop entrepreneurial skills in youths? Developing entrepreneurial skills in youths is not entirely dependent on the government. Parents have a big role to play in this. Opening up your child to various possibilities puts them on the right track for the future. It starts with simple piano lessons to drawing and painting. This way, they grow with it, it opens their minds. Creativity starts that way. Another means of reaching out to the youth is by organising events where they meet people that they look up to in the society. These people could talk to them about developing their skills. Do you think skills training should be introduced in secondary schools? Yes, it should. It is a great innovation. I think some secondary schools are doing well in that aspect. With the rate at which things are going in Nigeria, it would be better for youths to be equipped. It would keep our unemployed youths off the streets. This training should be extended to universities too. As a matter of fact, some universities have included the training in their programmes and it is of great benefit to those who have participated in it. Do you feel entrepreneurs should concentrate their efforts on businesses in the urban areas? No, I don’t support that. The urban areas are already crowded. It’s only logical for entrepreneurs that are just starting out to set their nets somewhere else. In my opinion, they should try to grow out first, start small and then spread their ideas to the urban areas for competition, if they must. How should an entrepreneur handle fear of failure? Every business has risk. There is hard work and there is the God-factor. When one starts a business, one should put in your all and see how it turns out. When the business fails, that means some factors are yet to be considered. Rome was not built in a day, even known business tycoons have failed at one point or the other. Should the fear of failure stop them from investing? Our roads are bad; cars could break down any time but we still move about. Therefore, an entrepreneur who wants to make a landmark should never quit even after a failure.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 06:47:49 +0000
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