Another inspiring story. A good example of 1. Creating something to fulfill a need you have and 2. The balancing act between your corporate job and building your business.
In her own words:
Folasade, for many years wanted to use spices that were natural and not tainted with additives such as MSG. She had tried quite a few and was not satisfied with what was out there. She therefore came up with the idea of making her own spices and what began as an office floor conversation became a reality when she began to experiment with making spices at home and shared samples with her colleagues. Their feedback was invaluable and before long, word of mouth meant she was busy every single evening and weekend to keep up with the demand. She sold out at the international trade show and the rest is history. Today, Dawa spices is a full-fledged packaged food company with customers across Ghana, Nigeria, Gabon, Cote d’Ivoire, the United States and the United Kingdom. While she continues to make the spices by herself, she has also worked with a team to help with every other aspect from designing communications, planning PR campaigns, to preparing for exhibitions and sampling events. This team is made up of people she has met over the years throughout her career and they were very happy to help.
In the midst of this success, she continues to climb the corporate ladder with a leading telecommunications company in Ghana. In order to manage both careers as well as being a mother, she has had to rely heavily on the support of her network of family and friends. Her success would not be possible without it.
Her learnings? The first step is the most difficult. Be courageous enough to take it. Be prepared to work really hard (late nights, weekends) to make your dream a reality and most importantly make sure you have a great support group (friends and family) who will be there during the difficult times or simply just to listen or help.
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