Featured Entrepreneur Interview - Taiwo Ajala: The SuyaSpot

Am yet to meet anyone who does not love or at least like suya, no matter where in the world. I had the chance to interview Taiwo Ajala of The SuyaSpot Canada and here is what he had to share.

· Tell us a little about yourself, your background


o I was born in Ontario Canada, spent most of my youth in Kaduna & Jos, returned to Canada about 15 years ago and have been shuttling between both countries ever since. I am also an accounting graduate.

Taiwo with Ghanian actor MAJID

· What is your business and what do you do?


o I am a restaurateur, I operate the suya spot


· When did you start the business?


o About six years ago

· How did you get the idea for this?


o My brothers and I used to make suya for friends at parties, it sort of spawned into a business idea.


· What was the biggest startup challenges?


o Leaving my field to startup a company independent of any support system I was used to.


· How did you overcome those challenges?


o My brothers were a great source of support. Couldn’t have done it without them


· What makes your business unique, what’s your “unique selling point”?


o I realized that food didn’t need to just nourish the body, it represents the culture of its people. My business seeks to bring people together through the enjoyment of a good meal

Sauce Kid at The Suya Spot

The Suya Spot at an outdoor event

· In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.


o Awesome


· What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?


o Entrepreneurs are driven to accomplish more than they can typically handle


· What do you think it takes to become a successful entrepreneur?


o Guts. There are a lot of challenges along the way, it doesn’t take much to become discouraged.


· What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?


o You have to be adaptable, market conditions do change quickly


o You have to be a realist, when things aren’t going as planned, it probably wont get better – make changes (adapt)


o Lucky. Its strange to say that but there are a lot of smart people out there, the next big idea might come when you’re in the shower and not sifting through years of research papers


· What would you say to someone considering starting their own business?


o Don’t be afraid to fail. It is more common to fail than to succeed so you wont be the first or last. Win or loose the experience will teach you a lot about yourself. That lesson will make you good at it.


· What was your greatest fear in starting a business? How did you manage that fear?


o The fear of failure.


· What would say are the five key elements for starting and running a successful business?


o Know what you’re getting into.


o Be prepared for anything


o You’ll need great support


o Know your customer


o Have an exit strategy


· What inspires you?


o Success


· If you were conducting this interview, what question would you ask yourself, and what would the answer be?


o Q: Of all the business choices you’ve made, which single ones were the riskiest, best and worst?


o Riskiest would be the massive advertising campaign we went on even before we secured a location for the store


o Best was the result of that campaign. People were curious about a store that had a secret location. When the next round of ads came in people sure wanted to check it out. Turnout on opening day set the tone for the rest of the years


o Worst would have to be that we didn’t get that creative when we moved to a larger location. We lost a significant customer base for a while, most found us eventually.


Thanks for your time :)

You can check out their website at: The SuyaSpot

FaceBook: The Suya Spot

Book Launching in Abuja Tomorrow

DATE: Saturday 21^st July 2012

TIME: 12 noon to 2pm

VENUE: Dabras Hotel, Wuse 2, Abuja. 

TEL:  0803 190 7546

I will be doing a book reading for the author Anne Odubanjo so feel free to stop by and support a local author!

The Plague of the Leggings!!!

Hmmmmm . . . I remember the days when women usually just wore leggings to workout in. Now its all the rage and sometimes not always in a good way.

Lol, now don't get me wrong I too have joined the band wagon and wear leggings around like nobody's business but I do observe a few rules and regulations so am not caught out there looking tacky or comical.

First and foremost, leggings as an outfit is not for all shapes and sizes!!! It is most unflattering for bigger girls and even slimmer girls have to be kinda fit to pull off looking sexy in leggings.

Secondly, if you are in the UK please refrain from buying PRIMARK leggings. They are sooooooooo transparent. Cellulite, panties, viens and all the likes are just put on display . . . .smh. I know we all like to save some money but we should not be cheap in this department.

Thirdly, ladies please wear black or very dark colored underwear. Nobody wants to see your polka dot panties or bright red g-string clutching to your behind or even worse your bush that you did not shave or wax.

Fourthly, try and wear a longish blouse or something that at least covers your bottom so when u have to bend down you are not just spreading your business about; and also to cover up those too tight legging that kinda make you look like you got camel toe  . . . .ewwww.

Try and buy your size . . . .something thats not too tight but also not loose. Nothing funnier than baggy leggins, c'mon!!!! Its leggins for pities sake.

FYI- did you know that since the popularity of girls wearing leggings more often, its made them prone to more yeast infections and also ingrown hair bumps from shaving and waxing? Yup, because they are so tight and clingy theres less ventilation and you have the fabric rubbing against you causing all sorts of irritation. So easy on the leggings, we know they comfy and cute but we can do with some variety in our wardrobes.

This has been a public service announcement :)

How Do You Know Your Airline is Safe?

In light of recent events, I thought sharing this article from CNN most appropriate:

How Do You Know Your Airline is Safe?

It appears that Nigeria is on the Category 1 list, which means that our planes are safe to fly. However Dana Airlines was not on the list . . . . I think the list of safe airlines that are rated Category One should be readily and easily accessible so at least we can have some sort of peace of mind as we continue to fly within the country. . . . if I come across this list I will share it.

Once again my condolences to all those who lost family and friends. May the souls of all those who passed away rest in perfect peace. Amen.

Featured Omoge for June 2012 - Anna Morenike Adediran a.k.a (Marinika)

Bright like the sunshine and armed with a personality like no other, I present to you this months Omoge, Anna Adediran aka Marinika.

Born in Krasnodar, south of Russia to a Russian mother and a Nigerian Father, do not let that background fool you - she is a true “Naija” girl, who can speak Yoruba like her father’s Oduduwa :p

With a knack for languages, she also speaks English, Russian and French.

Raised mostly in Nigeria, she studied accounting in Ife. While she was still in her first year, she was awarded a scholarship by the Nigerian Scholarship Board to study abroad. Due to her heritage and background, she chose Russia as her first choice and went on to study accounting at The Finance University in Moscow. After her graduation, she worked at Vozrozdeniye Bank in Moscow and later went on to work at Ecowash Mobile CIS Ltd.

She was then awarded a postgraduate scholarship and is currently pursuing a PhD in Social Management at The Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, where she currently lectures.

Her passions in life include dancing, baking, traveling, volunteering, writing short poems and listening to live music. She also enjoys watching basketball and ice-skating.

Some of her favorite quotes to live by are:

 "It is never too late to be what you might have been. NEVER GIVE UP!"

"Life is God's gift to us, and what we do with it is our gift back to God."

Her motivation in life is to learn, love, live life fully and become the best person she can be both professionally and personally.

Wishing you all the best in your future endeavors Marinika!

Follow her on twitter @The_LadyInRed

All the Things That Went Wrong on June 3, 2012 After the Plane Came Crashing Down

Unruly crowd-  We all saw the pictures of people gathered around in shock and disbelief and that is to be expected but no barricade or crowd control. On cnn, on of their reporters said a wall came down because people were climbing over it not to help but to look. Fine u want to take pictures and video but don’t get I the way of the rescue.

Accessibility to crash site and victim- because of the crowd, the Red Cross who were trying to conduct the rescue had to eventually stop bcos they could not get thru the crowd . . . does this make sense at all???

Am also sure the narrow and pot hole riddles roads did not help either in getting to and fro the crash site.

Fire Dept had no water???!!!! . . . . yes we know its Nigeria, no water, no light, no petrol no nothing. But if there is a fire brigade and they claim to be operating what were they doing when there was no disaster? couldn’t they be sorting out water.

Now lets say there are survivors on ground who may have survived having a faulty plane drop out of the sky on to their heads. . .  Rescue team takes them to the hospital. Does the hospital have the appropriate facilities for burn and trauma victims? Do they have the equipment to keep the people alive?

Electricity- Plane went done approx 3.45pm, by 6pm it is already getting dark. Will there be light? How do we see the bodies under all the rubble? How will the rescue continue through the night? How effective is the rescue going to be?

Lack of Proper Coverage- Why do we all have to tune into CNN and BBC to learn what is happening in our own country? Most of our local stations were slow to cover the situation and a lot of stations still went on as usual and did not even run a banner of breaking news. If we barely care about ourselves, how do we expect others to truly care about us as well?

The whole situation is just so sad and painful. So many lives gone and lost, planes do crash in other parts of the world. But the Dana plane that came down yesterday painstakely reveals all the major problems within Nigeria. These problems are not new and we all complain about them but its time to stop complaining and venting and time to mobilize and take action and do something… We should all remain prayerful during times like this because it is times like this that do test our faith but we should also remember that God helps those who help themselves. Nigerians as a whole we need to help ourselves become a better nation and running out of the country is not going to help.

My heart goes out to all those who may have lost loved ones during this ordeal. Most especially to friends and all the people that flew into Abuja from the States, Lagos and all over for the wedding and events going on this past weekend. Please remember this is not the end and surely brighter days are ahead of us. xxx

Mitun Dada

Plane Crash From Abuja to Lagos

About 4pm this evening, a Dana airline flight from Abuja to Lagos crash landed in the Iju area of Lagos. About 156 people are feared dead.

Please call and check on your loved ones. My heart goes out to all those involved and my prayers to all their family members.
We can not take this life for granted.