In Inspiration February 27, 2023 By Esther Ijewere

Captain Janet Days Is The First Black Commanding Officer Of The World’s Largest Naval Base

Captain Janet Days is now the first Black woman commanding officer in Naval Station Norfolk’s (NAVSTA) 106-year-history, 13NewsNow reports.

The Chicago native graduated Summa Cum Laude from Old Dominion University and was commissioned through Naval ROTC’s Enlisted Commissioning Program. Within her 24-year career, she’s taken numerous tours aboard: USS Simon Lake homeported at La Maddalena, Italy, USS Mahan, and USS Forrest Sherman. She’s also been deployed twice!

Her leadership hasn’t gone unnoticed; Days was awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (7), Army Commendation Medal (2), Army Achievement Medal, and the Afghanistan Campaign Medal.

Few weeks ago, she was sworn in as NAVSTA’s 51st Commanding Officer, a role that is typically reserved for white men, making history as the first Black commanding officer of the world’s largest naval base, which is located in Norfolk, VA. This wasn’t the first time Days made history; in 2021, she was named the first Black woman Executive Officer at Naval Station Norfolk.

In her new role, she’ll be overseeing 6,200 acres, including 13 piers, an 8,000-foot airfield, 63 ships, two 188 aircrafts and 18 squadrons. A true trailblazer and an inspiration to us all, this is a beautiful way to end Black History Month.

Congratulations, Captain Days!

Source: Becauseofthem

In Inspiration February 24, 2023 By Women of Rubies

Meet Addie Elabor, Philly-based Nigerian Designer Who Built A Million-Dollar Fashion Business

Nigerian designer Addie Elabor is a woman cut from the self-made cloth. She launched her Philadelphia-based ready-to-wear African fashion brand D’IYANU in 2014 and has grown it into a million-dollar business.

The company, which focuses on creating culturally conscious-pieced with bold prints, features handmade and ethically sourced products from West African and the United States. Addie shares the strategic moves she made to launch her idea, build a team, and continue to grow an e-commerce business, even in troubling climates.

When did you start your brand and how did you get the idea for it? What inspired you to turn it into a business?

Addie: I was inspired to start D’IYANU at the beginning of 2013 when I realized that there was a void in the fashion world for ready-to-wear African inspired pieces that were easily accessible to people like me. There wasn’t a leading brand that allowed you to celebrate your culture in a modernized way. I asked myself “why not me?”. I immediately had this vision of developing a brand that would become the African print version of Zara or H&M. I didn’t have a fashion background, but the vision was so compelling that I had to make it happen.

At the time I was dissatisfied with my career and relished the opportunity to launch my own business with the goal of building a legacy in mind. D’IYANU was launched in January of 2014 with six women’s styles and has grown exponentially ever since.

What was the first investment you made into D’IYANU to get it off the ground? Why?

Addie: D’IYANU was launched with a $15,000 investment which came from my savings and a credit card loan. The bulk of the initial investment went into producing 50 units each of my first 6 pieces produced in Philadelphia which included the pattern and sample making, fabric, and production of the collection.

Tell us how you were able to scale D’IYANU to a million-dollar business? How long did it take you from the time you started to hit the million-dollar mark?

Addie: The beginning of 2014 was a struggle since I was still working full-time and running the business on the side. I decided to quit my full-time job in May of 2014 to focus full-time on D’IYANU. I knew I needed to invest all my time and attention in order to get the brand off the ground. With the goal of gaining more customers, I would set up at various festivals and even managed to get some products into two boutiques in Philadelphia, but I wasn’t really getting much traction.

I knew that the best place to find customers was online. At the end of September of 2014, I took a course on creating Facebook ads. That course was quite an investment, but it transformed my business practically overnight. With the help of Facebook ads and email marketing, we were able to hit $1 million in sales by the middle of 2016 which took 2.5 years from the launch date.

What makes D’IYANU unique from your competitors or other “African clothing” shops online?

Addie: D’IYANU is unique from other African clothing brands because we are the most innovative and offer the widest range of products for Men, Women and Kids. With the goal of being a lifestyle brand, we offer products that can be incorporated into our customers’ everyday life. Our product offerings include everything from active wear to formal, and office attire. Our innovative spirit is one of our core values that pushes us to explore other types of fabrics and materials so that our items are more comfortable and functional for our customers.

For instance, we use our unique African print stretch woven fabric to make dresses, skirts, pants, jumpsuits, and tops for women so that they’re extremely comfortable and accommodate curves and movement. The fabric looks like the traditional Ankara, but it has amazing stretch and softness.

No other African inspired brand is using this type of fabric. We also print African print on french terry to make our Men’s polo shirts, jogger and hoodie sets. Recently, we launched an iconic Jean Jacket with Kente inspired print for our pre-fall collection and we will be launching more denim and print products in the near future. We’re also looking forward to our knitwear pieces that will be featured in our Fall and Winter collections.

Were you the only person working on your business when you started? When did you realize you needed to hire or build a team in order to be successful?

Addie: I was the only person working on my business up until April of 2015 when I hired my first full-time assistant. I had been working out of my studio apartment up until March 2015 when I moved my operations into an official office space. I realized that my business was growing quickly and I needed the assistance sooner rather than later.

What has been your biggest challenge with growing your business?

Addie: My biggest challenge has been finding quality employees who are also a good cultural fit to fill various roles at D’IYANU. Two additional challenges have been learning to better manage people to bring out the best in them and finding senior employees they can lean on who are operating at a higher level and can provide guidance into their work.

If you knew now what you knew then, what is one thing you would have done differently to accelerate the growth of your business?

Addie: I would have hired a marketing team sooner in order to scale faster. I was doing way too much in the beginning and naturally I couldn’t handle all of our marketing needs.

What is your advice for someone who wants to start an e-commerce business?

Addie: My advice would be to make sure that the product you’re selling has a unique selling point and tells a story that will resonate with a sizable audience. Set aside a marketing budget and make sure to leverage social media marketing early. Lastly, start building your email and SMS list pre-launch so that you already have customers on launch day and continue to grow that list post-launch, since email and SMS marketing offers the biggest return on marketing spend.

Source: Bauce Mag

In Inspiration February 21, 2023 By Women of Rubies

Oluchi Madu: Exploring The Creative Side Of Children Builds Self-Confidence

Oluchi Madu is a talent development coach who helps people to discover, develop and monetize their creative abilities so they can function in their ruling domain. She is an efficient and highly organized professional with extensive experience in Human Resources Management.

She is also a public speaker who has authored four books to her name: Divine Asset, The Seed of Greatness, Every Challenge is a Message and Talent: The Money Magnet.

Drawing from her wealth of knowledge as a talent development coach, she founded Talent Maximization With Oluchi Madu, a platform where people are trained on how to discover, develop and maximize their creative abilities to reign in their ruling domain.

Oluchi is happily married with children and lives with her family in England.

She shares her story and the inspiration behind her book in this interview.

Who are you?

My name is Oluchi Madu, a Family Life Practitioner who majors in Talent Maximization.

How it began? Journey to writing

The Lighted Candle is an experience and research-based novel which I created from a challenging experience our daughter had with a school teacher when she was 4 years old. Her class teacher instructed a classmate to flog her because she could not assign a pronoun to a name written on the board.

The teacher went further to call her unprintable names and this experience got our daughter’s self-esteem and confidence badly battered. It got so bad that she developed an irreconcilable hatred for the English language and school in general.

We moved her to another school thinking that it was something a change in environment was going to rectify. Little did we know that it was going to be a long and stressful journey, started researching the things that can make her come back to her usual happy bubbly confident child, then in the course of the journey and discovered something very interesting, talking about the power of the creative abilities of children.

I discovered that a child that explores his creative abilities easily builds self-confidence knowing that there’s a particular thing that he’s very good at. Our daughter loves singing and playing musical instruments, so we got down to work to ensure that she explores her love and talent for music and that was the miracle she needed. She became that confident child we’ve ever known and started writing songs and stories.

She recently won a director’s award in her school – best in the English language here in England. I decided to share my result-proven findings with as many families as possible in form of a novel.

Where can we get the book?

The Lighted Candle is on Bookplaze and Amazon. Just a click on the link below will direct the buyer to the site to purchase https://oluchimadu.com/

Writing Process?

I documented our daughter’s recovery process from damaged self-esteem and my experience as a Talent Maximization Coach. It took me 6 years to write this book because I was studying, implementing, and recording all my findings, processes and results.

What’s the book about? And where it was published

The lighted candle is an experience and research-based child-self-training and parenting tool created in form of a novel. It is a documented process of how children battling with low self-esteem, peer pressure, academic challenges, and non-connection with parents, can build their self-esteem, enjoy a deep connection with their parents, excel academically using their creative abilities, develop and leverage social capital, and become great in life.

This book is needed by every growing child to learn how to jump every hurdle set by life and navigate to greatness. It is also a tool needed by parents, teachers and every child handler to understand children’s varying personalities and the best way to connect with them.

The lighted Candle introduces every child to his or her great personality. It teaches how to navigate through stages of childhood, grow and leverage social capital and attain greatness using creative abilities.
Every child is designed to be great if only he is shown his Lighted Candle and how to use it to illuminate his way and also lighten the paths of others. It was published in Nigeria by Worital Publishing Company.

Why should families read the book?

Reasons why every family should have The Lighted Candle;
1. The Lighted Candle introduces every child to their personalities and creative abilities.
2. It is a self-training tool. This means that with this book, a child can train himself on how to navigate through life challenges.
3. It is a tool that teaches children how to build self-esteem and become a person of positive influence.
4. The Lighted Candle is also a tool that teaches children how to build and leverage social capital to become great in life.
5. It teaches children empathy and emotional intelligence.
6. The Lighted Candle is a tool needed by every parent, teacher and child handler, to understand children’s personalities, how to connect with them and how to help them leverage their creative abilities to become who they are created to be.

Are you a first-time author? Otherwise, how did your other books fare?

The Lighted Candle is my 5th book, my 1st book is titled Divine Asset, 2nd – The Seed of Greatness, 3rd – Every Challenge is a Message and my 4th – Talent, The Money Magnet.
Which are all selling and making impacts.

What next now the book is written?

The purpose is to share the solution that I found with as many families as possible. So, we’re on a mission to ensure that The Lighted Candle get to as many families as possible.

Growing up

I was raised by the best parents anybody would want to have. My parents, especially my father, prepared me for greatness. I have always been a confident child who oozes great leadership qualities because my father inculcated those qualities in me. With these qualities, I find myself always picked by the spotlight wherever I go. So growing up, I was the head girl in my primary and secondary schools.

Favorite author?

My favourite author is Dr Myles Munroe of the blessed memory. Through his books, I found my path in life.

If in-charge of National matters

If I should find my way into the educational system of Nigeria, I will change a lot of things.
1. Our educational system will be reformed to be a platform where talents are refined.
2. Teaching jobs will no longer be for those who cannot get other jobs but for those who are qualified and are passionate about teaching as a career.

Sell yourself

If there is one thing I love about myself, it is my idea of success. I see myself successful when people that come in contact with me learn the things I have succeeded in.

I don’t like people around me suffering and begging for means of livelihood because God has given every human being on earth all we need to become wealthy and great.Talent is the seed of greatness but many people don’t seem to understand this.

So as a Talent Maximization Coach, I set up an academy called The Talent Maximization Academy where we teach people;

1. How to discover their talents and the audience their talents are meant for.
2. How to develop and refine their talents to be sellable.
3. How to monetize their talents and explore the business of their talents.
So this 2013, we have a goal of raising at least 1000 people who’ll record mind-blowing successes using their talents. So we crashed the tuition fee to accommodate as many people as possible who may have a problem with funds.

Sell your book

The Lighted Candle is my 5th book. My 1st book called Divine Asset is an inspirational book specifically designed for women. This book reveals the treasures and the influence women have that some do not know about. It teaches women how to discover and leverage these treasures to become great and live as the queens they are designed to be.

My 2nd book called The Seed of Greatness teaches about Talent, Vision and Purpose. It explains the relationship between Talent, Vision and Purpose. It reveals how people can create a lifetime vision from their talents and live a life of purpose.

3rd book, Every Challenge Is A Message just as the name goes explains why people should not see challenges as all negative.

It details how people can turn challenges into positivity, while the 4th book, Talent: The Money Magnet teaches how people can build transgenerational wealth with their talents.

My just-published book which is the 5th and is called The Lighted Candle.

1. The Lighted Candle introduces children to their personalities and creative abilities.
2. It is a self-training tool. This means that with this book, a child can train himself on how to navigate through life challenges.
3. It is a tool that teaches a child how to build healthy self-esteem and become a person of positive influence.
4. The Lighted Candle is also a tool that teaches children how to build and leverage social capital to become great in life.
5. It teaches children empathy, emotional intelligence kindness and compassion.
6. The Lighted Candle is a tool needed by every parent, teacher and child handler, to understand children’s personalities, how to connect with them and how to help them leverage their creative abilities to become who they are created to be.

**How did you get to know worital, your experience and what makes worital different.**

I actually stumbled on Worital on Emeka Nobis post and started studying them on Facebook. Working with Worital is one of the best things that has ever happened to me.

I’ve had an amazing experience with Worital to the extent that the business relationship will be a lifetime journey. I can go to bed with my two eyes comfortably closed knowing very well that I will get the best from them. The touch of excellence in all their works is simply captivating.

Team Worital works with authors to ensure that they record huge success as authors. They do not leave authors after publishing their books. They work with the authors to make sure that the books serve the purposes for which they are published. Fola is exceptionally designed for the vision of Worital.

On being a Woman of Rubies?

I see myself as a woman of Rubies because I am releasing the treasures in me to the world. Any willing mind that comes in contact with me will either succeed or succeed. I do not give up on willing minds. Like a proverbial woman in the good book who gave up her coins to look for a lost coin, I can give in my all to ensure that a willing mind succeeds.

Then I am so passionate about my family. My husband Charles Madu is my soulmate and my most favourite person in the world. Together we created a beautiful world for our beautiful children where the gifts of every family member find expression and we enjoy priceless bliss. We don’t joke with natural creative abilities because we understand that talent is the seed of greatness.

In Inspiration February 20, 2023 By Esther Ijewere

Esther Ijewere: Dear Single Parents, Healing Is Your Responsibility

Dear single parents,

I understand the pain of doing it alone with no support system. I know it hurts when you think about the sacrifices, and you feel life is not fair.

Believe me, I also have those moments. When I say I understand, I truly mean it.

However, you must understand that while trauma isn’t your fault, healing is your responsibility.

You can’t heal from pain If you continuously visit old wounds or give life to topics that put you in a “dramatic” position where you entertain the public with your private matters. You will end up looking like the problem you are trying to solve.

One thing I have done to protect my energy and peace since I became a single parent is to stay away from things, people, and places that trigger any old wound I’m trying to heal from

The Power of Healing

Healing is an art.

It takes time, it takes practice, discipline, and self-love.

I also learned that healing is in phases, and the more inner work you do, the more things came to the surface.

Instead of explaining myself to folks who have not walked a mile in my shoes, I focused on my healing journey, prayer, and affirmations.

Also Read: Before You Judge Another Single Mom

Healing affirmations for tra.u.ma is one of the tips I shared in my soon-to-be-released self-help book. If you would like to have a copy, kindly click here to join the waitlist. I also shared some techniques I used over the years to stay grounded and focused, even when I was gaslighted.

It’s not easy really, but once you learn to forgive yourself, you have the power to control your emotions and your impulse.

Read Also: 5 Dating Tips for Single Moms

You will know who or what deserves a response or reaction and avoid drama.

I also realized that what some saw as my inadequacies ( single parent status), others appreciated as my strength. I focused on the latter.

Watch: 5 Ways To Stop Being A People Pleaser

The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is how to silence the mind and be discerning.

Sending love, light, and good vibes to single parents who are trying to heal from pain.

Remember, healing is your responsibility.

signed,

A single mom doing it alone.

Connect with me on social media for more inspiring content

Follow me on: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube

Subscribe to my mailing list here

In Career Gems February 18, 2023 By Esther Ijewere

13 Influential Female Bloggers In Nigeria

Sharing information around the globe has become trendy across social media platforms due to the improvement in technology. Blogging is one of the main communication platforms accessible in this digital age.

A blog is an information platform where a writer or team of writers craft interesting content on a wide range of subjects such as news, food, fashion, lifestyle, and many more.

Nigeria is blessed with numerous talented bloggers trending on social media with active followers of their blogs. Women are ranking top in the list of influential, popular, and successful bloggers in Nigeria.

These 13 top female bloggers are experts in creating detailed and engaging content that captivates readers and entertains steady advertisements. These blogs focus on a variety of topics that Nigerian society can relate to and find interesting.

Below are the top 13 female bloggers in Nigeria you should follow this year.

1. Linda Ikeji

Linda Ikeji uses her more than 15 years of experience to dish out entertaining and outstanding content. She owns Lindaikeji.blogspot.com. Her blog releases stories and news, which consists of political news and celebrity updates that are unique to her blog. Linda Ikeji who is also known as the Queen of bloggers is one of the most popular, wealthiest, and influential bloggers in Africa.

2. Uche Pedro

Uche Eze is the CEO of ‘Bella Naija’ which is one of the most trendy and winning blogs in Nigeria. Her blog posts consist of a detailed analysis of African weddings, beauty, fashion, music, entertainment, lifestyle, and many more. Numerous newbie bloggers draw inspiration from Uche Pedro.

3. Tosin Ajibade

Tosin is popular for dishing out entertaining and lifestyle content from her blog ‘Olorisupergal.’ She is an accounting degree holder from Lagos State University (LASU). Her top-notch blog posts have attracted several awards, and nominations consisting of Leading Ladies Africa, and YNaija’s 100 most significant women in Nigeria.

Olrisupergal-Tosin Ajibade — Tosin Ajibade- Olorisupergal

4. Laila Ijeoma

After quitting her job as a banker she turned her focus on blogging as a profession. Over the years she has demonstrated that blogging is a profitable career. She joins the list of top bloggers in the country. Fashion, lifestyle, politics, and celebrities gist are covered in her blog_ LailasBlog.com

6. Yemisi Aiyedun – Sisi Yemmie

Yemisi Aiyedun also called Sisi Yemmie, is a top Nigerian blogger. A mass communication graduate from Igbinedon university. Her blog ‘sisiyemmie.com’ publishes fashion tips, food and restaurant reviews, lifestyle, beauty, and many more. Her unique approach to numerous topics has landed her multiple awards. Three words for Yemisi’s blog are engaging, entertaining, and educative.

7. Kemi Filani

Kemi is a journalist and blogger. She owns one of the most visited blogs_ KemiFilani which offers valuable information on Love/weddings, spirituality, juicy celebrity gossip, news break down in contemporary styles, and movies.

8. Stella Dimoko Korkus

Another successful female blogger that covers a wide range of topics such as entertainment, gossip, events, inspiration, lifestyle, news, fashion, and a lot more is Stella Dimoko Korkus . Over the years she has become a daring journalist and her blog stelladimokorkus.com reflects that.

9. Moji Delano

Moji Delano is an online media aficionado, lawyer, communications strategist, and entrepreneur, She is behind popular blog; mojidelano.com, and also the owner of SMD media.

10. Ladun Liadi (Oladunni)

The blog ‘LadunLiadi‘ was founded by Oladunni. She publishes blog posts on fashion, trends, celebrity updates, and hot gossip in Nigeria’s entertainment industry. Her blog is captivating, juicy, and interesting.

11. Chidimma Umeh

Chidimma Umeh is the founder of ThatIgbochick blog. A beauty, lifestyle, and fashion blog that virtually shares detailed information on facial cosmetics, make-up, and fashion. She passionately writes on the listed subject and this attracts make-up and fashion lovers to her blog. Her posts are engaging and entertaining as she also writes about interesting aspects of her personal life, beauty tips, traveling, and others. Her blog is also known as dimmaumeh.com.

12. Kate Ijeoma

Kate loves to write about women, their fears, struggles and challenges on her blog. She tell stories of women no matter where they come from in a bid to inspire and encourage them to embrace their uniqueness. Her blog feminine.com.ng blog educates women on the importance of having a voice and identity.

13. Tobi Ayeni

Tobi Ayeni a Banking and Finance graduate at covenant university is one of the top female bloggers in Nigeria who founded missitechy, a technology-based blog that bloomed tremendously over the years.

Tobi is multi-talented because apart from being a blogger she is a digital marketer and proficient in regulating online communities, generating campaigns, unraveling insights, accessing metrics, and educating clients about the above listed.

In Inspiration February 7, 2023 By Women of Rubies

Ogechi Adili Addresses Struggles And Vices Prevalent In The African Society In New Book

Ogechi Adili is a creative writer, content creator, educator and impact strategist who loves using writing as an expression. She is the author of the fast selling book; Lady Justice Has Been Raped, a novel that reflects the vices of unforgiveness and injustice prevalent in a typical African society via the lens of a young Nigerian Beauty Olaedo.

This book has connected Adili with people from different parts of the world, including Nigeria, Canada, India, Namibia, etc. It has also given her audience with dignitaries such as the Chief Justice of Edo State (Rtd), the president of the Association of Microfinance Banks in Nigeria – Dr. Joshua Ukutu.

She is also the author of the book: Fiction Writerz Juice; a guide for writers and all who intend to make their writing juice flow.

She has served as the Chief Editor of the UNIBEN Watchman Campus Magazine, a magazine that contains exciting and life-changing articles and stories. It also captures the undergraduate experiences and aims to model youths to change negative narratives and draw them to their Creator.

Her short story, The World As a Very Small Ball, was selected and featured in the Anthology of Nigerian Authors (ANA).

Ogechi Adili is passionate about making an impact. Hence, as a Tourism Community Development Service President, she undertook projects with her team to help young people and sensitise the girl child on the need to become a pillar of the society.

She has volunteered at several organisations where she received certificates of recognition.

In this interview with Women of Rubies, she shares the inspiration behind her new book; “Lady Justice Has Been Raped” , and the importance of challenging gender stereotype