Hey Sisturrr!
How are you doing? Throughout June, I've low-key been very excited about what this newsletter will look like.
The month of June was actually one of those months when I really wished I wrote this newsletter on a weekly basis instead of monthly. Unfortunately, it is what it is.
(Let me know if you want to read Hey Sisturrr once every week. I’ll be glad to do that if you like.)
The month of June was a really interesting one. I had so many personal experiences and drew lessons from the experiences of others that made me deeply reflect.
Let's dive right into them!
I'm living the day I once dreamed of
I began my financial independence journey in September 2021, after I had "failed out" of Pharmacy School.
At that time, I was filled with A LOT of fears, uncertainties and didn't know what to do or what not to do.
I had been a broke university student who depended on her boyfriend for the next meal and on her parent's irregular 2K for survival.
It wasn't easy!
While in school, I couldn't afford the luxury of transportation, accommodation or even data.
So, when I "failed" and was asked to repeat a year, I simply decided I would take a year break from school to "fix" my finances.
At that time, my dream was to get a job that'd pay me 40–50K. I somehow convinced myself I was going to survive on 20K per month and save 30K monthly to buy a fairly used Uniport shuttle bus.
I’ll get a driver that'll ride for me, and I get weekly returns, and that would serve as a means of livelihood while I’m still in school.
Surprisingly, the very first job I got wasn't paying me 40K or 50K as I dreamed, instead, I got a job with a company based in Canada, and my first payment was $150 (around 60,000NGN).
I got the job towards the end of November 2021, so, that month, I could only earn around $64.
Using TeeJay's Payoneer account, I could only withdraw $50, which was around 20,000NGN at the time.
Once I cashed it out, I headed straight to Choba and bought my Airtel 4G LTE mifi, which is a big asset for the remote job I did.
The next month (December), my boss increased my pay to $175 (70,000NGN), and by January he raised it to $200 (80,000NGN).
I was beyond excited. Who would have thought that a “dropout” like me would see that much money? But, I did.
By March, I got laid off from this job. I was very sad.
Although it was very short-lived, it made me realize what was possible. I could have a high-paying remote job, and work from home using my inert or acquired skills.
I searched and searched and searched for jobs. Applied to tons and tons of companies for different roles.
Many times, I got ghosted. Other times, I received the "unfortunately" email.
Till July 2022, when I got a job as "Sales & Marketing Executive'' at Ohmstech. It was a Nigerian tech startup and my pay was only 30K per month.
Even Though this wasn't what I wanted, I was more than happy to accept it and take on the new challenge.
While I still worked at Ohmstech, lots of doors opened - I got lots of freelance and even full-time gigs.
I even landed my first 6-figure role as a social media manager while working there.
In September 2022, I bought myself a generator set for my work.
In October 2022, I bought myself a smartphone that cost me 69,900 NGN.
I couldn't believe it!
My phone got stolen around December last year, and by January 2023, I bought a new phone that cost 84,900 NGN.
Since those 3 months without a job, I've been going from one opportunity to the other. I've bought fuel despite the price. I've been recharging my mifi.
All the things I once dreamed of in the past, I'm actually living now. How cool is that? 🤭
I know I have bigger dreams yet to come true, but, who doesn't?
But we mustn't forget all the wins we already attained on our quest for bigger ones!
LESSON: Growth and Change are the only two inevitable things in life.
I didn't win the ICHA Blog Contest
I remember mentioning in last month's newsletter that I'm participating in a blog writing contest.
I honestly thought I was going to win, but I didn't.
The contest was to write a 500 blog post on how young people can participate with civil societies and schools to end corruption in Africa.
The winners were going to get an invitation to attend the International Corruption Hunters' Alliance Conference in Cote d'Ivoire or get a $500 cash prize.
I was so looking forward to the $500 cash prize so I could rent a bigger apartment and move out of my current one.
I had done all my math and knew exactly how I wanted to spend it. Unfortunately, I wasn't a winner.
LESSON: We don't always win at everything in life. Sometimes we win, and other times we lose. But life goes on!
I made my first loss in business
Oftentimes as freelancers, we don't like to think of ourselves as business owners.
I've been in that school of thought for a long while.
But by listening to the Freelance Friday Podcast with Latasha James, I've come to realize how much of a business owner we really are as freelancers.
So, in the month of June, in addition to the freelance gig I have with a lady who I help manage influencers outreach, I decided to accept a client who needed help with social media and blog writing.
I prepared my contract with much help from ChatGPT, and she signed it.
She's a Port Harcourt-based optometrist who has an eye clinic.
And because I'm already swamped, I decided to hire a social media assistant (actually, she's one of our Figure-8 sisters).
Long story short, I cancelled the contract 3 days into it. I sent the lady a refund of 20K (which she had already paid), and my assistant 5K for her troubles.
I sent the refund after my assistant and I had worked tired on her social media strategy and one month's content calendar.
So, I made a loss of 25K on that job because I failed to listen to my instinct.
My instinct told me not to sign on this client, but I ignored it and was blinded by my thoughts of having an extra 40K in my account.
For the very first time, I could see how business owners felt when they ran into losses.
LESSON: If you're a business owner/entrepreneur, always open up your mind to profit and losses. It's all part of the business!
Chef Dammy of Ekiti
I talked about Chef Hilda in my last newsletter, and how much what she did greatly inspired me in my personal and professional life.
Nigerians were really not ready to see the drama "Chef Dammy" and her malnourished-looking teammates pulled on them in the name of a Cook-a-thon.
Out of the blue, there were pictures of her all over the internet claiming to be breaking the record of Chef Hilda Bassey.
She said she was embarking on a 120-hour Cook-a-thon. I low-key was pissed.
Not because she (Chef Dammy) wasn't allowed to dream big, but because everything about her Cook-a-thon screamed unprofessionalism, lack of preparation and unhealthy competition with Hilda, who was way above her league.
Trust Nigerians, they could see through her schemes and wouldn't give her a quarter of the support our dearest Hilda got.
The only folks that supported Chef Dammy were religious and tribalistic bigots who either believed she was doing it for "the kingdom" and "Yoruba people".
The straw that even broke the camel's back was her "Cook-a-thon" finished, and Aunty had not even registered for the competition with the Guinness world record. LOL.
She sha made a complete FOOL of herself!
All hail the original world record holder 🙌, a Queen I stan 💪 Hilda Effiong Bassey 👏👏👏
LESSON: Anything worth doing is worth doing well! If Chef Dammy actually wanted to outdo Chef Hilda, she should have gone above and beyond to make it happen.
GWR madness in Nigeria
Apart from the drama "Chef Dammy of Ekiti" tried to pull, almost all Nigerians suddenly want to become Copycats 😢
If Chef Hilda didn't participate in the GWR, wouldn't Nigerians know there was such a thing?
Why the sudden quest for cheap popularity from every Tom, Dick and Harry?
Hilda took 6 years to prepare herself for the Cook-a-thon, and all these clowns suddenly think they can do it with no preparation at all.
I laugh 😂
I am a big dreamer! I believe so much in the validity of dreams! But, I also believe in adequate preparation and excellent delivery 🥰
Chef Hilda didn't just embark on a Cook-a-thon immediately after she heard of Chef Late's success. She took her time, learnt about the competition and played by the books.
There's nothing wrong with aspiring to break Hilda's cooking record, but are you willing to put in the work it requires? Or you're just doing it to chase clout!
LESSON: There's nothing wrong with dreaming big, but preparation to reach your dreams is very vital. More vital is your excellent delivery 👌
I turned down 2 potential offers
Sometime in May, a colleague who works with me on the Influencer Marketing gig reached out and told me she needed my digital marketing skills to help out with her sister's school.
The school was experiencing very low conversions, and parents were beginning to pull out their children.
I analyzed the problem of the school and came up with 4 strategies that could help improve their fate:
Organic social media marketing
SEO-friendly content marketing
Social selling
Paid Social Advertising
I prepared a proposal and sent it to the school. And by the time they responded, it was already embarked on my 90-day job-hunting challenge, so I was already off WhatsApp. (More on this later).
I was honestly not interested in the offer anymore, so I turned it down. And shared with them TJ's contact.
The second potential offer was turned down right after I got off a discovery call with her.
As much as working on her project was going to be fun and a very good addition to my work portfolio, she was toxic.
And after some not-so-good experiences, I've grown huge apathy for toxic workplaces or clients.
So yeah, I never got back to her after the discovery call. The next step was supposed to be to send her a proposal. I chose to listen to my instinct, especially after making a loss of 25K the same month.
As much as I didn't accept the offers, they really helped me give my business more structure.
And while thinking about how to put my social media & digital marketing consultancy firm together, ideas for other businesses started popping up in my head, and I made sure to journal everything.
LESSON: Most times, everything is not all about money. Sometimes, listen to your instinct and know when to say NO.
My Neighbour asked me to marry him
About 3 weeks ago, a guy that lives in my compound asked me to marry him.
In his words, he's been observing me for a while and was confident I was the one for him 😂
Him asking me to be his life wasn't even my major turn-off, my major turn-off was his personal goals.
According to him, he had graduated from university and was going to NYSC soon.
After that, he said his Uncle who lives in Turkey was going to fix him a job and he'd travel overseas.
He's telling me about the marriage thing so I'll be aware 😁😊
When he's gone and settled down, his senior brother in Nigeria will come and pay my dowry, then I'll become his wife 🤭
He'd relocate me to Abuja, and there I'll have babies for him and he'll be sending us money 😂
And when he's finally settled, he'll put me on the plane and I'll come and meet him in Turkey.
He said I look like the kind of woman that can put a family together, and that he's sure I can even help him build a house in Nigeria while he's overseas.
He's sure when I live in Abuja with Junior (our future baby), I won't be looking at other men 😂
I told him point-blank that I wasn't interested.
This guy honestly had any idea of the kind of woman I am or the kind of woman I want to become.
I don't need shortsighted men like him in my space, and I'm not interested in marriage. Not now, not anytime soon.
I'm obsessed with my dreams and the kind of future I want to build for myself.
I'm so obsessed with becoming one of the world's leading Psychiatrists, and how I'll finally get there.
Marriage to him, especially the kind of marriage he described, wasn't the kind of life I envisage for myself.
My chat with that guy reminded me of a time when my mum once asked me not to dream so big because I'm a woman.
In her words; "You are going to get married, give birth to children and have a family someday. You can have dreams, but don't be too ambitious."
Why do people think the value of a woman should be tied to her getting married and having babies? Why are women stopped from dreaming big?
Dear sister, it doesn't matter if you're married, single or anywhere in between, dream BIG!
Don't give anybody permission to clip your wings! You have just one life to live, and if you spend your entire life living for other people, when are you going to live for yourself?
If you spend your entire life trying to make everyone else happy, when exactly will you make yourself happy?
I always feel pained seeing young women in their 20s or 30s get married and completely lose themselves! They suddenly find themselves under unnecessary pressure of proving to be a good wife or good sister-in-law or good mother.
What happened to all your wildest dreams as a child???
No matter how good you are as a wife, you can't stop "a man who's wired to cheat" from still cheating.
Think about Annie Idibia, Adesua Etomi and Chioma (Davido's wife).
As women, we really need to start learning how to put ourselves first, follow our dreams and stop following paths carved out by society for us.
It's up to you to f*ck society and carve out your own unique path.
Marriage is not for everyone! Children are not for everyone! Don't let Society make you think otherwise.
Update on my 90-day job hunting challenge
Still talking about dreams, I remember sharing with you last that I was embarking on a 90-day job-hunting challenge, and that I had an Accountability Group.
I have a dream to land a full-time remote role as a Digital Marketing Manager/Senior social media marketing manager/Paid Social media Advertising Manager/Head of Community & social media with a company based in the UK, USA, Canada or Australia.
I want a job that'd pay me around $1K to 5K USD per month, and one with good people culture.
Honestly, in the last 30 days, I've only sent out 2 job applications. I got ghosted by one of the companies and got a rejection mail from the other.
But I've spent a large chunk of time educating myself about jobs, job hunting and the remote jobs marketplace and it's been all shades of lovely.
I’ve also spent time interacting with some Nigerians who work for international companies remotely from Nigeria, and I’ve learnt so much from those interactions.
After taking time to watch webinars presented by Adunola Adeshola and Rudolphe Dutel, I decided to take a more strategic approach to my job hunting.
Instead of the "spray and pray" method, I'm going to find companies I'll enjoy working for and pitch my value to them.
According to Adunola and Rudolphe, this strategic approach works all the time! And in Ali's words, it's the "Permissionless Apprenticeship" method.
Throughout July and August, this is the method I intend to use to achieve my goal of landing my dream job.
Wish me luck 😩
I'm leaving Port Harcourt for good
On a final note, I'll be leaving Port Harcourt tomorrow. Like relocating to another city. At the moment, I don't really know if it's going to be Lagos or Accra, but I'm sha leaving PH.
I'm leaving to pursue my dreams! I mean, even if I don't land my dream job with an international company, I could at least find a Nigerian tech company with good people culture where I could work over the next 2 years.
Unfortunately, Port Harcourt doesn't have a lot of those kinds of opportunities, so, I'll go where I'm going to find them - Eko City 🤭
I came to Port Harcourt for the first time 4 years ago, I came for school.
4 years after, I'm leaving without a degree but definitely as a changed person.
I'm no longer the scared 19 YO that gained admission to study Pharmacy at Uniport.
I'm a digital entrepreneur, a digital marketing professional and more.
I can't wait to see what this new phase of my life births.
My Final Words…
The month of June was a truly exciting and interesting one for me.
I had so many experiences (both good and bad) and learnt so many lessons too.
As I go through life, I try to document and own my stories. I try to see in what ways I'm doing well, and in what ways I'm not doing so well.
I share it with y'all on a monthly basis, and it's called "Owning my story."
I want you to feel free to own your own stories too! I'll love to read your own stories too. I'll love to read about your challenges, your little and big wins, your failures and lots more.
Feel very free to shoot me an email at bookieeyes19@gmail.com, and I look forward to reading your stories and sharing them with all our sisters in the Figure-8 Connect Community.
Have a very fun-filled July!
All the best on your endeavours.
We've definitely missed you on WhatsApp ❤️
I know you'll come back better and fulfilled.
Hearty hugs 🤗,Till I read from you again ❤️
Much love sister 💞
I really love this and I'm encouraged to start on my long procrastinated project.
Your June Story has truly inspired me.
I would like to have a weekly post.
May the sky remain a stepping stone in your world. All the best dear...
Looking forward to your big manifestations wherever you go ❤️