Skillher Meets July Edition recap

  

Innovation and Expansion: Pathways to Business Success. 

SkillHer Meets session with Amaka Adeayo. 

On July 15, 2024, SkillHer Meets 7.0, 2024 edition sparked a wave of inspiration through a dynamic session led by Amaka Adeayo, a notable entrepreneur in food and recreation industry. The session which held at LMP space, Favos building, Bodija, Ibadan, starting at 3:00 PM, showcased Amaka’s remarkable journey and insights.

Introduction

The event commenced with an enthusiastic introduction to the SkillHer Initiative, setting the stage for an evening of empowerment. Attendees were welcomed warmly to the session designed to foster growth, development, and skill-building for young women, with networking actively encouraged. One of the participants, shared her own story of how networking within the SkillHer community has eased her professional journey and led to valuable client referrals.

Spotlight on Amaka Adeayo

Background and Education

- Family and Early Life: Amaka Esther Adeayo(Chief Mrs) is married to Chief Hamed Adeayo, and they have two children. Raised in Lagos State, Amaka hails from Imo State and grew up in a family of seven.

- Education: She earned a Bachelor’s degree in library and information science and a Master’s degree in Information Technology from the University of Ibadan. She is currently pursuing her PhD.

 

Business Journey

- Amahs Bite: Launched in December 2019, Amahs Bite started as a small shawarma spot and has grown into a popular shawarma lounge. Inspired by her father, a renowned chef from Eastern Nigeria, Amaka’s passion for cooking drives her business. She saw a gap in the market during her university days and aimed to offer unique shawarma options in Ibadan. Her long-term vision includes establishing a permanent structure for Amahs Bite, alongside ongoing personal and professional development.

 

Interactive Session

Our guest speaker began her session by defining innovation and expansion. She emphasized that innovation requires consistency, which leads to expansion and growth. Meeting customers’ needs, she explained, inherently involves expansion.

The session was highly interactive and practical, with Amaka using her food business, Amahs Bite, as a case study. She explained that starting a business requires both technical and business skills. Technical skills are the leading force, while business skills help accomplish business tasks and demands. The driving force to excel in a business, she asserted, is innovation and expansion.

Other crucial factors she discussed includes analyzing challenges, preparing for emergencies, maximizing manpower, maintaining consistency, having a good support system, determination, developing marketing strategies, maintaining a positive mindset, networking, and communication. She also stressed the importance of factoring maintenance costs into profits and ensuring a certain percentage of profits goes towards maintenance.

Amaka advised making sacrifices for customers but warned against letting those sacrifices lead to loss—recommending negotiating percentages without incurring losses. She highlighted the importance of informing people about your business, stating, “You can’t do business with a closed mouth.”

Sharing personal challenges and how she overcame them, Amaka motivated participants to not let obstacles deter their business growth. She answered all questions posed by participants, providing practical insights and encouragement.

 

Key Takeaways

- It’s never too late to start a business.

- You can’t do business with a closed mouth.

- Always have contingency plans.

- Outsourcing is a plus in business

- Growth Path: Innovation → Consistency → Expansion → Growth.

Conclusion

Amaka's journey exemplifies success and determination and her presence as the facilitator for the July SkillHer Meets left a lasting impression on all attendees, emphasizing the crucial role of consistency in driving business innovation and expansion. Participants walked away with a powerful reminder that consistency is vital for achieving growth and success in their business endeavours.

Stay tuned for more enriching experiences as SkillHer continues to lead the way for women’s success in our society. 

Feedback

It was very enlightening, I learnt that it is important to understand your audience/customers, the category they fall into whether they are working class, rich people or students. Also, staff should not give discount. I love the fact that the speaker really shared her own experience making it very practical.

Dr. Maryam

 

Outsourcing is a plus in business and keeps it going. Consistency in a business is important, no consistency makes a business to lose out. More consistency leads to expansion.

Opeyemi

 

This is a great thing to put together. I got a reminder on how consistency pays; and also reminded that challenges come but you embrace them and find a way forward.

Anonymous