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Welcome the LizSpire Leadership Series.
I believe that the best way to learn is to listen to and engage with people who are experiencing noticeable wins in the area of life you wish to excel at.
In this series, we will share our discussions with notable leaders (in various fields) whom we believe we can both learn from, and be inspired by.
This week we are showcasing our chat with Mrs Aisha Adamu, serial entrepreneur; at the vanguard of entrepreneurial development curriculum for kids.
After reading this, you will seriously consider contacting her about enrolling your kids in Teen Tycoon Preparatory Academy.
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Lizspire: Good afternoon Madam. To kick off our conversation could you please introduce yourself; tell us a bit about yourself, your background and what role you fill right now.
Mrs. Aisha Adamu: I am a Nigerian! My formative years were spent at Air Force Girls Military School, Jos. I earned my BA degree in Mass Communication & English from Bayero University Kano. I am also a Certified Green Belt in Lean-Six-Sigma.
I started my professional career in the media industry where I worked with Nigerian Television Authority, Voice of America & Daily Trust newspapers. After a 13-year career at MTN Nigeria, took the plunge into solo entrepreneurship.
While working with MTN I set up my first business (a farm) which was a joint business with my siblings. Currently I am the CEO of Fantasee Park and subsequently Teen Tycoons Preparatory Academy.
I am privileged to be a wife and mummy to 3 kids.
Lizspire: I know the question foremost on the minds of Lizspire subscribers will be ‘how did you get here?’
Mrs. Aisha Adamu: I had just resumed from Maternity leave in 2014 and was transferred to Abuja from Kaduna. I had 3 young children and had to shuttle Abuja-Kaduna on a weekly basis with my new baby.
It was an exhausting routine and my 2 other kids were not doing well being apart from me weekly. This ignited my desire to become self-employed. I had always had a flare for organizing fun events for my children and I identified the gap in that sector in my state of domicile; hence the birth of Fantasee Park Ltd.
Lizspire: I have a sense you made quite a number of sacrifices. What did you give up, delay or turn away from to get to where you are?
Mrs. Aisha Adamu: I used to be obsessed with jewelry (Gold in particular). However, when I became an entrepreneur, I sold off all my jewelry to invest in my business. I still haven’t bought any gold set since then. Whenever I see a beautiful jewelry and I am tempted to buy, I equate that money to how much profit I will reap from it if I invested it into my business.
It is all about knowing your priorities and a sense of being driven by what you wish to achieve.
Lizspire: Speaking generally, what were the top three challenges you encountered starting your businesses?
Mrs. Aisha Adamu: The very first challenge for me was my inadequate knowledge. I strongly recommend project management and mentoring for startups, it helps mitigates errors.
Following this, lack of funding was another big challenge. Most financial institutions only give loans to established businesses; this makes it extremely hard for startups to get funding at the initial stage of the business.
Thirdly is staffing. It is hard to find the right fit especially as regards integrity; I was unfortunately a victim of dishonest staff.
Lizspire: It is obvious that you are a multifaceted entrepreneur, with fingers in a number of entrepreneurial endeavors. Could you tell us about these businesses and why you started them?
Mrs. Aisha Adamu: My first baby is Fantasee Park; inspired by my fun loving son who kept me window-shopping for centers that offered child entertainment.
Despite wanting to give my son a good time when we went to parks, I found out that I got bored quite easily because there was nothing for me to do. I did some survey and discovered that most parks are either child-centered or just designed solely for adults.
This gave birth to the idea development of Fantasee Park where both adults and children could have quality time without either getting bored. At Fantasee Park, we make deliberate effort to use entertainment/recreation as a tool to increase quality family bonding time.
During the teething period of Fantasee Park, I took some decisions that cost me a great deal. This experience got me thinking on how I could help other people to eliminate these errors as much as possible. I wanted to help people build entrepreneurial skills.
As usual, I undertook my market survey and decided to focus on young children due to a number of reasons discovered during the research period. After about a year of just paper work, I went into partnership with a friend to set up a primary school.
Thus, we registered the first Primary school that blends entrepreneurship studies as a core part of the school curriculum.
Teen Tycoons Preparatory Academy is a private primary school with the greatest desire to build future business leaders who will be trailblazers in the business world as well as be an agent for social change. In addition to administering the Nigerian curriculum blended with entrepreneurship studies, we will be employing the theory of constructivism (learning by doing) for delivery.
[/spb_text_block] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_blank_spacer height=”30px” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”] [spb_text_block animation=”none” animation_delay=”0″ simplified_controls=”yes” custom_css_percentage=”no” padding_vertical=”0″ padding_horizontal=”0″ margin_vertical=”0″ custom_css=”margin-top: 0px;margin-bottom: 0px;” border_size=”0″ border_styling_global=”default” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”]Lizspire: What exactly is the vision of your entrepreneurial school?
Mrs. Aisha Adamu: Our vision at Teen Tycoons Preparatory Academy is to lead todays children into being productive, self-reliant and financially independent.
(Pictured, a cross section of the Teen Tycoons Preparatory Academy team)
Lizspire: That’s great and plugs a gapping lacuna in our educational system. So if one wanted their kids to be a part of this school, how do they reach you?
Mrs. Aisha Adamu: You can contact us via any of the following means:
Instagram: @ttpacademy
Facebook: Teen Tycoons Preparatory Academy
Business Line: 08092001008
Contact Person: Aisha Adamu
Website: www.teentycoons.net
Related Reading: 10 Effective Ways to Teach Your Kids about Entrepreneurship
Lizspire: In your opinion, how can we create an environment where women can both aspire to and become formidable leaders in our business environment?
Mrs. Aisha Adamu: There is need to have structured outfits that primarily aim at supporting women entrepreneurs. It’s sad to see that most NGOs that claim they support women actually don’t deliver. WIMBIZ is doing a good job, but we need many more of such organizations to make it a core deliverable in supporting women entrepreneurs
Lizspire: It is obvious you wear many hats outside the home. I want to touch on the hats you wear inside your home – wife, mother, homemaker, resources controller… How do you manage them all?
Mrs. Aisha Adamu: I personally believe that whatever role you occupy, there is need to make a conscious effort to give your best. Do not leave anything to chance.
I am a very family centered person so every day I make out time in the evening to listen to my children and my husband. When I have work to do especially at the park, my children are part of my workforce and I assign tasks to them for which they earn rewards that can be in cash or kind. It’s tough I must admit but somehow I manage to be there for everyone.
Lizspire: What would you say is your biggest accomplishment to date?
Mrs. Aisha Adamu: For me, I would say my biggest accomplishment so far is to be an employer of labor. I can proudly say that I have paid salaries & wages to over 50 persons in the past year. This includes both my permanent and casual workers. When you pay someone and see the joy on their faces…. There’s nothing that gladdens my heart more than that.
Lizspire: In your opinion, what skills do the 21st Century professional woman need to have to excel in today’s business world?
Mrs. Aisha Adamu: Effective communication skills is quite necessary because it is quite difficult to be listened to as a woman. Also, we need to be assertive and not rude or domineering. Tech savvy is crucial, as the digital space has taken over as the fastest and one of the most effective means of marketing. Resilience is another core attribute for success in this highly competitive world.
Lizspire: I am personally curious; you are obviously very ambitious. Where did this come from and what drives you?
Mrs. Aisha Adamu: While I was an employee, I had so many ideas and innovations on how we could improve on some of our processes but most of my ideas kept getting turned down to the point I started to doubt myself. So when I set up Fantasee single handedly and saw it blossom and grow to one of the top 3 parks of choice in Kaduna state, it rekindled that fire and belief in myself. Thus all my bottled up ideas are coming to reality.
Also, the desire to instill the right values in my children such as belief in one’s self and being courageous is a driving force for me too.
Lizspire: As we round up, could you share advice for the new crop of entrepreneurs looking to disrupt the business environment?
Mrs. Aisha Adamu: Always be “original”. Do not jump into business just because you think someone else hit a jack pot while on that route. Entrepreneurship is tough, and only your passion and believe in your project will keep you going during some dark days.
Project Management skills are absolutely essential! Also, prioritize your expenditure.
Lizspire: I’d like to say a big than you for your time and for your commitment to improving the employability of our youth.
Any last words?
Mrs. Aisha Adamu: Always believe in yourself, that’s the beginning of success.
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Welcome back!
I hope you enjoyed learning from Mrs Aisha Adamu, as much as I loved discussing with her.
Quite a bit of the discussion was omitted on account of the length of the interview. If reading this sparked your interest, I encourage you to follow Aisha Adamu or Teen Tycoons Preparatory Academy on social media. There is so much to learn!
Entrepreneurship is the only way out of the cycle of porverty in Nigeria. Equipping our kids with the skills EARLY is key if they are to excel in any pursuit they set their hearts to.
Next month we will be discussing with another exceptional entrepreneur. Please consider subscribing to LizSpire so you do not miss any publication (published every Friday).
At your service,
LizSpire
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