MEET ARIANA
Zainab Kargbo graduated from the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM)- Sierra Leone; with a degree in business administration and an intent to hammer her way into the future by designing and making state of the art furniture. This story is unusual for a country that glorifies white- collared jobs with very low interests in technical-vocational fields . The youth grow up with a general disregard for certain professions, as they have been conditioned by their environment to undervalue them. Generally people in these professions are viewed as illiterate or semi- literate.
Zainab is determined to change the narrative, She hails from very humble beginnings- Tombo , a popular fishing village in Rural Freetown, Sierra Leone. She enjoys surfing the internet and draws a lot of inspiration for her work from there. Another hobby she enjoys: reading opened up a world of knowledge for her, seeing and hearing about women who did not take no for answer, women who were strong and ambitious. Her greatest desire is to be financially independent.
IN THE BEGINNING
It all started when she finished writing the final chapter of her dissertation. During that period, she was bored to death. She dislikes been idle and thought of ways of engaging herself usefully. She wanted to do something extraordinary.
Before this break she found herself stopping by a local carpentry and woodwork shop . She was captivated by the sights and sounds of the workshop. Her thoughts drifted often to carpentry , she watched online videos on the subject and paid keen attention whenever she stopped by the workshop. Her desire to make furniture for herself came from watching an online video regarding how to assemble and wrap tufted furniture. That video struck a chord from deep within, even though she ran out of data and never finished that video it kick-started her journey into making beds .
When she first told her family that she had developed an interest in making tufted beds, they were alarmed. How could she do it? Then it turned into ridicule, they chuckled and laughed at her. Why would she consider engaging herself in a ‘ man’s world doing a menial task’
Zainab’s focus never allowed their criticism to pull her from her desire. Instead she used their voices as motivation and decided to challenge them. In December 2018, She purchased materials and went on to make her own bed. Today she has sold five (5) beds ! Her sisters have now become her greatest supporters, they encourage her daily and they have developed trust and belief in her dreams.
I BELIEVE ENTREPRENEURS ARE DEVELOPED
I believe entrepreneurs are developed because for one to be an entrepreneur he/she must be ready to take the risk. They are builders who take a leap of faith and move on to grow and expand on their dreams.
MINDSET IS THE BLUEPRINT FOR A SUCCESSFUL LIFE
I strongly believe that mindset has everything to do with creating a bright future. Let’s take me as an example, I would like the other students in my graduating class be waiting for a job but then my mindset was different. I strongly believed that if I am fully engaged into entrepreneurship I wouldn’t need to seek for a job. Instead I will become an employer to other graduates and non -graduates. This I believe will help to curtail the issues around unemployment in my country.
In my mind, the world becomes a global village for an entrepreneur. As I achieve my goals and excel in business, I will not only inspire other people but it will provide me the opportunity to become a philanthropist. I have always thought about helping the poor, deprived and vulnerable people.
THREE PEOPLE THAT INSPIRE ME & WHY
I will firstly say Mrs Michelle Obama, she is not an entrepreneur but she is an independent woman, who strongly believes in herself. I follow her on social media and enjoy watching her inspirational videos and reading her literature . In my humble opinion she is a strong iron lady, who can step up to any task and see it done just like her male counterparts. I like the fact that she believes in developing women in order for them to achieve their dreams and aspirations.
The second person is my mother Mrs. Fatmata Kamara, she is the strongest woman I know. She became separated from my father when I was a child and she has single-handedly taken care of us with her very low and unstable income. My Mom started her own business with a very small capital. Her unique skills in doing business made it grow rapidly, faster than the norm. She believes in hard work and being extremely patient.
Lastly Mr. Dangote, His story started when he had nothing yet he decided to go into business with a small capital and now he is the richest man in Africa.
EDUCATION COMPLEMENTS TALENT
I discovered my talent when l just finished writing the final chapter of my dissertation. But irrespective of it being a coincidence, education means a lot to me. Because to a very large extent even the very talent I’m presently boasting of, it was first discovered in an unidentified crude form but with constant learning from the Internet. I can now boast of it being refined. So education is a pivotal tool that is applicable to break any deadlock. In that very regard I just don’t need to over emphasize the value of education in my own world. In an addendum my university degree helps me a lot in the area of browsing the world wide web and sophisticated Internet research.
As a business administration graduate, entrepreneurship happens to be one of my core module. In that regard the knowledge I extracted from that field during my days at the university helps me to coil my normal thinking into an advanced one. I am able to engage my time in research findings and I have finally discovered my unique God given talent.
MY RECIPE FOR SUCCESS IN BUSINESS
It take risks, availability, composed ideas, capital, thorough research and the realisation, that the customer is the boss. An entrepreneur should be always ready to take the risk involved in investing into business. He/she must always be in a standby position to swiftly adapt to any immediate changes. Research should be done frequently so as to know the demand of the customers. He/she must be proactive for the future. Think of new ideas that will sustain and develop the business.
TO BE EXTRAORDINARY & LATE OR GOOD & ON TIME.
I choose to be extraordinary and late. An entrepreneur clearly knows one word- RISK. Some businesses are slow to develop, but as long you know what you are into and the benefits involved, you will be ready to wait until the time is right. Some businesses flourish quickly, at some point the entrepreneur might end up losing their sense of direction because it all came too quickly. But if you continue to think and apply new strategies, research and know what the markets want , then your business will surely expand and will be sustained.
Being extraordinary means to be ready to go the extra mile to achieve what you want and you must be ready to go through the process. For every failure and delay there is definitely success ahead.
MY ADVICE TO SOMEONE WHO WISHES TO PURSUE A SIMILAR PATH.
They must be ready to take the risks and frustrations that are involved. It’s never easy, especially for a woman to compete in a man’s world. To make a difference she must be ready to go through the challenges.
