The Successful Africans

After a promise for her wedding invitations fell through, Dami decided to create her own wedding invitations! Well, it turned out so good that her guests started to ask her create invitations for their events. There’s so much more to the story. Listen to find out how Dami built a full-time business for herself from wedding stationaries, and more. Follow By Dami Studios on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bydamistudiosnyc/ Website - https://www.bydamistudios.com/

What started as a blog to enlighten a few people about Nigerian food, is now a brand recognized in dozens of countries. Ronke Edoho, popularly known as 9jaFoodie shares the story of how working on her passion led to the discovery of a market opportunity for healthy Nigerian meals, and the creation of the Lose It Nigerian meal plans.  Follow Ronke on  Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/9jafoodie/  Twitter - https://twitter.com/9jafoodie  Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/9jafoodie/  Website - https://9jafoodie.com/ 

It’s great to have a successful career or business, but what if we redefined success by the level of impact we make in the society? Dr. Oye Owolewa is a practicing pharmacist with a big heart and passion for serving his community in DC at both the everyday levels in society and at the highest levels of government.  Oye's Website - https://www.oye4dc.com  Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/oye4dc  Twitter - https://twitter.com/adeoyeowolewa Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Oye4DC/

For some, they get an MBA, find a business idea, strategize and build the business. For others, they have a burning passion and just put in a ton of work to cultivate it. On this episode, Nife Akingbe, also known as Skinny Hipster, shares her story of how she turned blogging from a hobby into her primary source of income.

A COO at age 32? Follow us on Ikepo’s interesting career journey to hear how she went from being an Analyst to rising above her managers and becoming COO at the same company.You'd think her story ends there, right? Not quite... Ikepo went on to create a unique table for herself that she couldn’t have dreamt up a few years ago. This is a beautiful story of how hard work, opportunities, Providence, and even disappointments, can lead to phenomenal success.

On this special episode, Abisola Shof is joined by her husband and show producer, Seyi Shof, to discuss the death of George Floyd and the unfortunate series of events that happened around his death. As African immigrants in the U.S., we discuss our views on racism, our current emotions, and our hope for days, months, years ahead. Finally, we offer suggestions on what we as a people should be doing right now.  Music Credit  Cheesepuff - Piano remix - https://freesound.org/people/cheesepuff/sounds/112071/ Furbyguy - PNO Loop - https://freesound.org/people/furbyguy/sounds/331873/ Romariogrande - EastandW - https://freesound.org/people/Romariogrande/sounds/399354/ Andrewkn - Parallel Universe - https://freesound.org/people/Andrewkn/sounds/404458/ Frankum - Aurora Loop - https://freesound.org/people/frankum/sounds/338255/ Shortiefoeva2 - Making Up (Soft Hip Hop) - https://freesound.org/people/shortiefoeva2/sounds/412048/ Shortiefoeva2 - Peaceful Hip Hop - https://freesound.org/people/shortiefoeva2/sounds/411080/

How does one go from being a New York City attorney, to traveling the world, posting breathtaking photos of beautiful destinations, and getting paid to do it? On this episode, Cynthia Andrew, popularly known as SimplyCyn, shares how she became a prominent travel and fashion blogger and influencer, and how that has allowed her to work with top brands such as Nike, Adobe, and a long list of others. Cynthia offers tons of great advice for creatives. She also talks about how she pitches top brands to get campaigns that rival an average salary. Follow Cynthia Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/simplycyn/ Website – http://www.simplycyn.com/ Music Credit shortiefoeva2 - Yeah - https://freesound.org/people/shortiefoeva2/sounds/411081/ shortiefoeva2 - Peaceful hip hop - https://freesound.org/people/shortiefoeva2/sounds/411080/ shortiefoeva2 - Making up - https://freesound.org/people/shortiefoeva2/sounds/412048/ edtijo - Decay - https://freesound.org/people/edtijo/sounds/250367/ Andrewkn - Parallel universe - https://freesound.org/people/Andrewkn/sounds/404458/

As you’d imagine, starting and running restaurant business is no joke. On this episode, Fola Jinadu, owner of Suya Spot, a destination restaurant experience in the Baltimore MD area, shares some creative ways he raised funds to start his business, and the highs and lows of running a successful restaurant. He also shares the impact of COVID-19 on Suya Spot and what suya lovers can do to support his restaurant and other small businesses during this time. Follow Suya Spot - https://www.instagram.com/suyaspotusa Suya Spot’s website - https://suyaspot.us  

On this episode, Abisola interviews Bilkis Ogbonna, founder of the ACE Festival. Looking to build on her success organizing a festival in 2019 that pulled thousands of attendees, Bilkis' 2020 plans are disrupted by COVID-19. Yet amazingly, she pivoted to helping people impacted by the pandemic, in collaboration with The Successful Africans podcast. Get ready to hear stories of real people that have been touched through our COVID-19 relief effort, from Maryland USA, to several states in Nigeria. Click here to donate and see updates on our campaign - https://www.gofundme.com/f/supporting-maryland-families-through-covid To learn more about Bilkis, and the ACE Festival, click here - https://africanculturalassociation.com/

On this episode, Abisola interviews Asafu Thomas, CEO of Naya Labs. Once upon a time, Asafu got laid off from his job, THE END! Or not... Asafu, used that as a prime opportunity to start his own company, which made $1.8M at its peak. Talk about turning your "bad" to "good"! Since then, Asafu sold his first company and started a second one. He also invests in other startups.  Two things stand out in Asafu’s story. The first is how he has built a solid network of relationships that he often leverages. The second is his passion for Africa. Asafu sources talent in Africa, trains them, and hires them as developers in his company. Both of these are main factors in Asafu’s success, but even more so, his involvement in sourcing talent from Africa is his own unique way of giving back.  Naya Labs Website - https://nayalabs.io/  COVID Relief Donation - https://www.gofundme.com/f/supporting-maryland-families-through-covid

On this episode, Abisola interviews Addie Elabor, an entrepreneur who quit her job, and cashed out her 401k, to build her online fashion brand, D'Iyanu. Today, D'Iyanu has grown to become a profitable multi-million dollar company will several employees. Addie describes how each of her work experiences in corporate America gave her skills that were directly translatable to her clothing brand. Listen carefully to pick up on her work ethic and intentionality in business, both of which are contributing factors to her success. D'Iyanu's website - https://www.diyanu.com/ D'Iyanu's instagram - https://www.instagram.com/diyanu/

On this episode, Abisola interviews Femi Abolude, a prominent wedding photographer in the DC, Maryland and Virgina region. Femi is the definition of the word "hustle". From being a bank teller, to working at a truck stop gas station, and then finding his way into the Information Technology field, Femi shared the multiple ways he created opportunities for himself where they did not exist, and how that resulted in his success as a photographer and videographer. Femi's website - https://www.femiabolude.com/ Femi's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/femiabolude/

On this episode, Abisola interviews Fope Agbedia, Vice President of Business Development at MasterCard. Fope discusses the journey of how she made it to the Vice President role within 9-years of graduating from her PhD. She shares a lot of great tips and advice from her experience that anyone can apply to be successful, whether in career or business. Fope Agbedia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/fope-agbedia-52b60310/   Successful Africans Workshop - Finding your niche and turning it into a business. On April 11, 2020 at Suya Spot, Owings Mills MD. This is an event for people looking to turn their skill or passion into a business. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/find-your-niche-and-turn-it-into-a-business-entrepreneur-talk-workshop-tickets-89926216735 Share Your Story - Tell us the story of your journey to success and the lessons you've learned to inspire and uplift other Africans. - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdHSKEVyXuNe6Qu07AxoAm7ft6BaKjqmAcRfXmfBFDKfBOLgw/viewform    

On this episode, Abisola interviews Chiko Abengowe, an entrepreneur who quit his job at age 26 with only $1,000 in his bank account, and now owns multiple businesses with revenue in the millions.Chiko Abengowe describes how the jobs he had after college helped him learn the ins-and-outs of medical staffing. He talks about the leap he made from being an employee to being a business owner, and the multiple challenges that naturally came with being a first-time entrepreneur.One thing you’ll notice in this conversation is that his zeal and determination for success flowed throughout the interview, and that in itself was most likely a significant factor contributing to his success.Relevant LinksChiko Abengowe - https://www.instagram.com/chikothedreamchaserPerfect Office - https://www.instagram.com/goperfectofficePerfect Staffing - https://www.instagram.com/perfectstaffingllc/Perfect Property - https://www.instagram.com/myperfectproperty

On the first episode, your host, Abisola, interviews Bolanle Ogunmakin, a serial real estate investor. Bolanle walks us through the journey of how she paid zero dollars to buy her first investment property in Washington, DC. She shares some of the funny, yet frustrating nightmares she dealt with and lessons she learned along the way. Finally, she provides some real good advice to beginner investors. Relevant Links Real Estate 101 Workshop with Bolanle (Feb 8, 2020) – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/practical-steps-to-buying-your-first-rental-property-tickets-83566516701 DC Open Doors - https://www.dchfa.org/homeownership/available-programs/dc-open-doors/ 

Join Abisola Shof for stories of hustling, epic mistakes, near-misses, and euphoric successes that Africans experienced in their journeys to build success in business, careers, and creative endeavors.