Inspiration Archives

In Inspiration February 10, 2020 By Women of Rubies

Dami Ashaolu – “Four Career Books That Helped Me In My Professional Journey”

One of my favourite references as far as reading lists go is Bill Gates. I mean, you can’t attain that level of success without doing something right and I think being an intentional reader is one of the reasons why Mr Gates is so successful. Mr Gates usually has 5-10 books on his annual reading list, and while I think this is worthy of emulation, I also want to set actionable goals. I have a 9-5 job and other deliverables that might not let me read 10 books a year. You might be like me and need a smaller list of recommendations. If so, here are 4 books I recommend for professionals looking for reading suggestions to build their careers.

Enjoy

Expect to Win: 10 Proven Strategies for Thriving in the Workplace by Carla Harris:

This book reads like fiction which is the best kind of book. Carla uses her own experience climbing up the career ladder at Morgan Stanley to share some tried and true tips on how to build your career. For a black woman living in the US like me, this book has been a referral of sorts. I have come back to it quite a number of times to know what to do. It is also very relatable across countries and industries so highly recommended.

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t by Jim Collins:

This book is inspiring and then some. There is a reason why it has been on so many bestseller lists. It gives you an insight into how some of the greatest companies got where they were and how others lost their greatness. It is a great read and has sequels that are also worth the time. I highly recommend this for leaders and upcoming leaders; we can all learn a lot from the successes and failures of those that have gone before us.

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink

This one is a winner with any audience. Talk to most readers in the corporate sector and they have read ‘Drive’. It is a book that explores the things that motivate people to do their best work. Reading it can help you identify what ‘drives’ you, AKA your passion. Once you know this, everything will change; the way you work, the way you play and even the way you love…So yes, make this the year you read this one.

Mistakes I Made at Work: 25 Influential Women Reflect on What They Got Out of Getting It Wrong by Jessica Bacal

Ladies, get in here! Similar to the first book on this list, this is another easy read. I especially like this because it tells you WHAT NOT TO DO. Experience is not always the best teacher and advice from this book can save you some Panadol money. Take advantage and learn from the experiences of those that have gone before. It is a major staple in my library and one book I enjoy giving to my girlfriends in the corporate world.

Written by Damilola Ashaolu

In Inspiration February 8, 2020 By Women of Rubies

Read Dr Roberta Hoskie’s Story – ‘Nothing Is Impossible’

That is what Dr. Roberta Hoskie wants everyone to understand “Nothing is Impossible.” With her book, Poverty Curse Broken: The Roberta Hoskie Story, it is what she wants her readers to know, and apply in their life.

“If my story can help inspire and have someone believe IT is possible, whatever IT is, then, to me, that’s fulfilling,”

The first publication seeks to show readers how anyone can rise above circumstances to achieve greatness.

Known worldwide as Ms. Millionaire Mind$et, Roberta is a real estate investor, inspirational speaker, entrepreneur, and community activist. Her many accolades and accomplishments include numerous awards from hometown organizations such as New Haven, Connecticut’s Chamber of Commerce, African American Affairs Commission, the New Haven Register person of the year and many others. She has recently been awarded the key to the city of her hometown, New Haven, CT! Roberta has also spoken at the prestigious Yale University as well as been the subject of numerous news segments both locally, nationally, and even internationally. She has also hosted radio programs to teach others how to break what she’s dubbed the “Poverty Curse” and the mindset that holds too many from reaching their full potential. Fighting poverty isn‘t a struggle she studied in Sociology 101, but lived through like millions of others.

She remembers standing in church, holding her son in the prayer line when her mother encouraged her to jump in, and recalled the pastor pointing to her young son saying: “Look at your son. His life is directly linked to yours…directly linked to what you do.” He laid hands on her and she passed out. That was one of several turning points in her life she discussed in the deeply personal memoir.

It was enough to make this single mother on welfare, who dropped out of high school ask: ‘What is MY life?’” She looked at her condition and recognized she was surrounded by generational poverty and questioned what her son’s future would be. She thought about the statistics surrounding black men, her son’s father’s drug dealing, being a high school dropout, and having 22 family members in the same housing projects. ”What do I have to offer this kid?” Hoskie asked herself.

She changed her mindset to think about what future she wanted for her son & family. “It’s a matter of believing that it’s possible. The minute you believe it’s possible and don’t give yourself a Plan B, then only A can happen. My plan A was that my son will not have generational poverty, be a drug dealer, or be lost to these streets,” she explained. Hoskie focused her energies and worked hard to break the curse of poverty and the mindset that normalized it. The road ahead was not going to be easy; but for Hoskie, the road behind lead nowhere. Poverty Curse Broken details Dr. Hoskie’s journey from bullets whizzing through her project window while her son slept, to working up to a 6-figure salary, on to becoming independently wealthy through real estate investment.

Exposing her traumas and her impoverished beginnings was as deeply personal as it gets. Talking about being abused, being poor, uneducated, a teen mother, and dropout wasn’t easy. Her tears stained the pages of her notes recalling the many struggles she had experienced in her young life. But while she was the subject of numerous stories in print, television, radio, and podcasts, she felt HER story had yet to really be told. So five years ago, she began writing companion journal entries to accompany her 21-day Mindset cards. Initially avoiding the prospect of sharing the deeply personal pain of her experiences, she found she couldn’t help but interject her own life experiences

At times, the writing process stagnated – even for a woman who teaches others that procrastination is the enemy of progress. “I was beating myself up for procrastinating,” she recalled, “My youngest son Oliver said: ‘Mom, maybe the part that you need in the book hasn’t happened, yet…” Shortly after, a Facebook Live video Hoskie posted showing an interaction with a homeless man she posted, went viral. Initially, Hoskie’s Facebook Live post meant to show that there are good, honest people. She’d lost a $10,000 check getting out of her car. A man named Elmer Alvarez found the check and called her office to return it. What Hoskie didn’t know at the time, was that Alvarez was homeless. Posting the meeting on Facebook took a local story international and changed both of their lives. And despite this chance happening, Roberta does not actually believe in chance or coincidence in favor of divine intervention – that things happen when they happen for a reason. Submitting to a higher power and putting oneself in position for those blessings is key.

Helping the homeless good Samaritan, Alvarez was relatively easy for Roberta. Elmer Alvarez now has a home, car, attends church regularly, and is on a path to what he dreams of, becoming a pastor. However, it showed Roberta the potential to change someone else’s life in a really substantial way. And with that, became the thing that her book needed. She went back through her emotional journey of dredging up the past, as painful as it was, Hoskie knew it would help someone.

Newly inspired, she returned to writing – sometimes typing on tear-stained keys. But her desire to share her story took over despite the pain of digging up the past, and potentially angering family members. “I can’t be selfish…That’s why I was very transparent. There are plenty of people that have been in abusive situations, and couldn’t come out, or let the past haunt them…The things I put out there are the things your people tells you never to discuss in public,” Hoskie explained, referring to a chapter in the book called Shush, Don’t Tell Nobody.

And while some may look at this book as the culmination of the journey, Hoskie sees much more down the road and a part of a larger process to help people become the best versions of themselves – finding their own personal success and freedom from the curse gripping millions around the country and the world. She continues to expand her Millionaire Mindset Sisterhood Program with chapters in Connecticut, New Jersey, Georgia, New York, Tennessee, Los Angeles and even the Dominican Republic. Touted as the rise of a 21st century sisterhood, this faith-based sisterhood is devoted to breaking the poverty curse by promoting real estate investment, group economics, profit-sharing, and property acquisition amongst its members. So while the future looks bright for Dr. Hoskie, she wants the future to be just as bright for others and that success is what one defines for themselves.

Roberta recalled crying in her car on her way to her 6-figure job, asking God for forgiveness because she had come so far and achieved so much, yet remained unsatisfied. She felt she was being unappreciative – even greedy. And then she heard God speak: “God told me: ‘That is the way I designed you because I have work for you to do. And what I have for you to do, you cannot be satisfied.”

Credit: Blacknews

In Inspiration February 8, 2020 By Women of Rubies

Meet Josephine Uba, a Nigerian Marketing Influencer Impacting Growth for Businesses

Ebere Josephine Uba is a native of Ozubulu Anambra State but based in Lagos State, Nigeria. She is the current Nigeria marketing head at IIHT Technologies, an global known ICT training and education solution provider.

She leads the digital marketing experts at Kleensa Promotion, a marketing and branding company in Nigeria. In addition, she runs her dedicated marketing blog basically on digital Marketing, creative designing and branding to sustain both startup and individuals’ brand.

She’s a certified digital marketing expert with indept experience and knowledge of marketing and branding, who has spoken at events like Sales Pro Conference 2019, WordPress Wordcamp 2019 etc.

Figure: Portrait of Ebere Josephine Uba

Josephine Uba is a creative entrepreneur, corporate host, professional keynote speaker, tradeshow and spokesperson presenter. She has deep experiences across variety of digital marketing forms acquired by working with top businesses as well as startups. She has created integrated, direct, digital and social media marketing programs across diverse product categories encompassing soft goods, media, entertainment-related products, and craft-oriented offerings. She simplifies the complex concepts behind today’s evolving marketing challenges. Her Tagline is “SHE MEANS BUSINESS”.

Then (2016–2018) at Epoxy Oilserv, she was employed to lead a team of digital marketing professionals to establish their Epochem new brand together with its products in the industrial & institutional cleaning & maintenance Nigeria markets. Within 2 years, they successfully grew revenue with the products which they developed and fortunately, the equity of Epochem brand increased to the extent that their targets easily acquired their products more than some of their local based competitors.

Via Kleensa Promotion and blog posts, She has helped over 50 new start-ups grow via her posts & invaluable advisory services coupled with their marketing solutions. She create designs, graphics, websites, animations, digital assets & other marketing materials for Individuals & Businesses.

Merely 3 months after Josephine Uba got engaged to work for IIHT Technologies Nigeria as their marketing head and digital marketing professional trainer, there became evidences of substantial growth with respect to successes in walk-ins, enrollments, business-development, brand reputation/equity and overall revenue of the training company.

She stated that the successes they’ve acquired so far boosted her aspiration of becoming not just a marketing leader but a growth hacker who would empower business profitability.

A Clip Shot of Josephine When She was Talking about Constructive Website Design!

Josephine is great at researching and innovating strategies to attract customers and eventually solve problems for them. Ofcourse she has helped over 50 new start- ups grow via her posts & invaluable advisory services coupled with their marketing solutions.

Josephine at Kleensa Promotion, oriented “CONSTRUCTIVE WEBSITE DESIGN” an action oriented form of a UX website design targeted to fasten a web visitor’s decision to take relevant action, that even the laziest web visitors who hate to read contents can easily be converted via constructive website design.

Towards her journey of becoming a “Marketing Influencer”, she launched & proceeded with her digital marketing blog titled her name “Josephine Uba” where she continously offers insights to help businesses and individuals build/promote their brands.

The blog as a marketing blog is categorised into marketing, branding and creative designing treating up to 1200 topics & will eventually cover all topics with respect to digital marketing. See blog: www.josephineuba.com.

Truly, Josephine sees herself to be a “Marketing Model” as she hosts and speaks at various marketing events, product shows and activation, also organizes and works with a team of comedians, dancers and marketers to host market activations for businesses. In addition, she speaks publicly on topics relating to Business Marketing, Branding, Creative Designing, Personal Branding, Digital Marketing, Women Empowerment, Personal Developments and Motivations.

One simple fact about Josephine is she believes that no matter what, “SHE MEANS BUSINESS” and if you want to get something out of life, “MEAN BUSINESS”.

Source: WomenAfrica

In Inspiration February 7, 2020 By Women of Rubies

Melinda Gates – You Need To Push Yourself, Hold Your Ground And Also Be Yourself

”For two decades, Melinda worked hard to keep a low profile. She enrolled her kids in school under her maiden name. She spoke out rarely. When she did begin to give interviews, she talked almost exclusively about her philanthropic work and this is still mostly the case. But more recently, Melinda is finding her voice, she is doing her own investing- she just published a memoir- The Moment of Lift and perhaps most powerfully, Melinda is sharing more about her own life.”

Melinda was recently interviewed by Jessi Hemphel for the Hello Monday podcast series and here are 4 things we took out from the conversation.

1. Have a career goal. It is instrumental to attaining corporate success. “I wanted to join a company that was changing the world. And when I eventually interviewed that spring before I graduated with Microsoft, I literally came out and I remember calling my parents, I was in Seattle, they were back in Dallas, saying, oh my gosh, Mom and Dad, if this company makes me an offer, I won’t be able to refuse it. They are changing the world and I want to be a part of that.”

2. Like Chimamanda says “Because you are woman is never a reason for anything.” Similarly, your gender should never be the reason why “you cannot” or “should not” rise up to the full height of your potentials. “They (Microsoft) hired 10 MBAs that year, which was their first “class.” And I was the only woman, the other nine were guys. And that didn’t seem that odd to me, honestly. Because in computer science, when I was studying it at Duke after freshman year, there were just so few women. And so when I would be in the computer lab, I was always coding with guys and I actually got really good at running teams that were all guys. I would sort of rise up. Even when I was coding in college, I would sort of rise up as the leader and manager. So when I got to Microsoft, it just didn’t seem that unusual to me. We were creating products that were changing the world. And for me the great thing was that at Microsoft it was very merit-based. And so my chance for advancement was so rapid there because I knew how to code, I knew how to run teams, I knew how to manage things when I came in. And so very, very quickly I moved out of product marketing into actually development of products where I was running the whole team and they just kept giving me larger and larger teams. And then by the time I left, I was in the consumer division running a team of many, many products, over 1700 employees.”

3. Always be yourself. Don’t try to fit into notions of how “a proper woman” should be or act or speak. Who made the rules anyway? Be yourself. “I loved it (working at Microsoft) at first, but then as I started rising in the ranks and I could see how aggressive the culture was, you had to go into every meeting knowing all your facts, you know, standing up for your point of view, being willing to argue it at the table. I knew how to play that game. I could play that game. I did that game, but I didn’t like myself very much. And so as I would go home and think about it more, especially about a year and a half, two years in, I thought, you know, I might just leave. And I had been told by consulting firm, and they stayed in touch with me that I would basically have a job offer there anytime I wanted if I got a couple of years experience. So I thought I might go and do that. And then I was at home and reflecting on it, I thought more and more. No, no, no. I love this company. I love building products. I love being on the front end. What I don’t like so much as the culture. And so what I decided to do was just try on being myself. I thought I’m going to just go in and be myself and if they don’t like it they can take it or leave it cause I’ll just leave that and go get another job.”

4. Have your female tribe. Women who affirm and validate your authenticity. “I surrounded myself with other women. I write in the book about one of my best friends, Charlotte Guyman. And I could see her working in her own style. She was a bit older than me. She had worked at HP and then gone back to business school and Charlotte was just herself. And I thought, well that seems to be working for her, so maybe I should do that. So I could often talk things through with her. I had other female friends I would talk things through about are you unhappy about this? What do you think about that? And then eventually I actually was working for Patty Stonesifer in the consumer division. She later came to work for us at Microsoft and Patty was somebody that I learned a tremendous amount from about how to push yourself and hold your ground, but also how to be yourself.”

Source: Woman Africa

In Inspiration February 6, 2020 By Women of Rubies

Hannah Olateju Is An Amazing Beauty Blogger With No Arms And Leg

20year old, Hannah Olateju at the tender age of 2, had four of her limbs amputated to save her life, after contracting meningitis.

Despite all, she has a lucrative career as a fashion and beauty influencer. Currently, on her platform, she intends focusing on motivating and inspiring others.

She documents her life experiences on her social media, with about 105,000 followers on Instagram, using her platform to boost self-esteem in others

“My childhood was extremely happy, I always remember laughing and playing around like a headless chicken, everything was pretty normal, and that transpired to me been a confident person.”

She is a body positive amputee, and wants people to treat others right, despite their disabilities.

“The only difference between me and you is that I have less limbs”, Hannah explains.

“I would say to people who do have a negative view of amputees and disabled people – get a life’

In Inspiration February 6, 2020 By Women of Rubies

21-Year-Old Daniella Ekueme Is Bringing Nigerian Palm Wine Into A Bottle

Daniella Ekwueme, founded the Nigerian palm wine company Pamii, in 2016 after a casual thought when looking out at her mother’s land in Abuja. “She just had this farmland and she wasn’t doing anything with it,” she recalls. “So I was like ‘Oh, have you ever thought of planting palm trees and getting palm oil or palm wine and boxing it up?”

Though, her mother’s answer was no, the the idea was already fixed on her entrepreneurial mind. She’d had palm wine—an alcoholic drink made from the sap of various species of palm trees and endeared to many Nigerians—at weddings and gatherings in the past, but it never quite “hit the spot” so to speak. “I realized that every time I’ve had palm wine in Lagos or Abuja, it’s always off or sour. Because palm wine ferments, so the longer you leave it, it gets bitter and [undrinkable]. So anytime I’ve had it at weddings it just doesn’t taste right to me.”

This presented an opportunity for the young student who was just 18-years-old at the time and moving between Lagos, London and Abuja: she could improve upon an age-old product, still very much in demand, by revamping the production process and packaging it. After extensive research and visits to local palm wine farms in Abuja, Ekwueme decided she was ready to experiment. Along with a small team, she bottled her first batches of palm wine in December 2017, calling the product Pamii—a naturally-brewed, premium palm wine. Ekwueme’s product is different—it fills a void in the Nigerian spirits market because it’s actually Nigerian-made. She reminds me that while her company isn’t the first to try bottling the beverage, others fell short due to “poor execution, poor branding,” and failure to “cultivate a brand and lifestyle around it.”

“I had never tried palm wine myself before my uncle served my mom and I a chilled bottle of Pamii during my recent trip to Lagos. “Back then it was considered the drink of choice for the big men in town,” he told me of the slightly sweet, but mostly tangy cream-colored beverage. Likening it to a typical image of old men opening a bottle of aged scotch and gathering around to share war stories. It was traditionally served and preserved in a large “calabash,” a jug made from the fruit of a gourd plant, and bowls made of the same material. “You can just drink it and go to sleep,” he added, clearly speaking from personal experience.

In reality, palm wine is less of a hardy liquor and more like a wine cooler, with an average of only 4% alcohol content by volume (it becomes more alcoholic the longer it ferments) the drink, especially when served chilled, is a light refresher in thick Lagos heat. It’s considered casual and inexpensive.

“Part of what makes Pamii apart is it’s “premium” brand identity and the drinking experience that it promotes, which is a far cry from the old-timey one my uncle described. Instead, Ekwueme wanted to make it more accessible for people in her age group. “Because I’m young, I [thought] let’s get young people drinking palm wine and package it as premium wine,” she says. “So you’re actually telling people this is a drink, it’s really nice. And you can take it to the beach and you can mix it with other things.”

Most importantly though, it tastes good. After tasting Pamii at my uncle’s home in Lagos, my mom and I became curious to try it at the various restaurants we visited. After trying it at the first restaurant, my mom remarked: “No. I like the one we had at your uncle’s house much better.” I agreed and we resorted to drinking from the stash of Pamii stored in my uncle’s “special fridge” for the remainder of our trip. I brought two bottles back with me to the U.S.

As someone with a unique vision and a quality product to offer, 21-year-old Ekwunema—who is preparing to graduate with a degree in Development Economics from London’s SOAS University—represents a very specific kind of Nigeiran “do it yourself” mentality. She’s also an image for what the future of Nigerian entrepreneurship could and should look like: young, forward-thinking, willing to preserve tradition while also improving upon it, and emphatically culture-driven. “I’ve always had an interest in everything African. I’m an African optimist,” she explains, adding that she’s proud of Pamii’s status as a “for Nigerians, by Nigerians” product. “There’s this culture brewing,” she says. “[It’s about] appreciating things from home and reclaiming them and doing them better. Because there’s no reason, honestly and truly, why there’s Guinness beer and no Nigerian homemade beer. There’s just no reason why.”

While her business model is young and progressive, Ekwunema asserts that she’s really just following in the tradition of women-led entrepreneurship that has always existed in Nigeria—even though women haven’t always received the recognition they deserve.”Young women and old women from everywhere in Nigeria, drive the entrepreneurial spirit of the country,” she states firmly. She’s had several examples of this kind of leadership in her own life from her mother, to a friend who owns a wig business, another who runs a honey business and the scores of Nigerian women who fill markets and sell everyday items by the roadside. “If you look on the road, they’re frying puff puff at 4:00 in the morning, they’re making soup, they’re selling corn—I heard of a woman who built a house in her village out of her corn proceeds,” she adds.

Drawing inspiration from these highly-capable women is why she won’t let things like the “mansplaining” she faces from men, who assume she’s too young or too inexperienced to actually know what she’s doing, phase her. “Having a strong mom, I’ve never felt like I could do less. There’s no way someone would tell you no and you listen to the no when you know it’s a yes,” she says quoting words of wisdom from her mother.

Once she graduates, she plans to head back to Lagos to work and continue running Pamii. She expressed slight nervousness, but full-blown excitement about plans to expand and start bottling other popular Nigerian beverages. Though she won’t tell me which one, only stating that it will likely be an accompaniment to Pamii.

Pamii is already being delivered across the country to loyal customers like my uncle, and being sold in select stores. But there’s still so much the young business-owner wants to do, including possibly exporting to the U.K. and the U.S. in the future.

As a young, first-time business owner in Lagos, Ekwueme knows she faces potential challenges, and while she expressed that there may be a “learning curve” ahead, it hasn’t stopped her from getting this far—or from wanting to go even further. “I definitely think we’ve barely reached the surface, like I’ve barely scratched it, and I’m very excited. In the next two to three years, I think Nigeria women will definitely take over for sure.”

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In Inspiration February 5, 2020 By Women of Rubies

How Funke Adeniji’s Intiative Is Empowering Women Through Sports Across Africa

The Women Elite Sports Empowerment Initiative (WESIE) was founded in 2012 by Miss Funke E. Adeniji who began playing basketball in her teens and was able to overcome a series of athletic and personal challenges to work her way up from collegiate level basketball in the UK to division 1, the UK’s premiere league for women. Her hunger to learn and improve as a player led to a brief stint in Australia, after which she returned to the UK to play for the Sheffield Hatters whom she helped win back to back championships.

Whilst experiencing some success, the series of challenges she faced on her journey led her to conclude that many women have limited options and opportunities to achieve their full potential as players; this realization would change her life forever. She decided to set up WESIE and qualify as a basketball coach with the aim of creating opportunities on and off the court for female athletes to achieve their full potential.

Her experience as a clinical pharmacist with an interest in Global Health Policies has also made her especially sensitive to current health challenges being faced by millions across the globe within the context of struggling health care systems, especially across Africa. While attending an international health conference she realized that she could easily combine her efforts to help women excel in sport whilst creating a platform upon which to improve the health and wellbeing of participants and their wider communities, starting with Nigeria. There is an immense passion for WESIE events in Nigeria and they have become an effective health intervention tool there. Nigerian women, and African women as a whole, face the same challenges that women in sports all over the world face but the problems are magnified due to weaker infrastructure and a lack of government support. By creating local opportunities for these women to excel and reap the full benefits of sports within their own communities WESIE is empowering these women in their communities.

Many of the young women who participate are considered a high risk group for diseases such as HIV so WESIE events have served as an effective mobilising and interactive tool to deliver health & well-being messages.

WESIE was founded with the motto ‘To Inspire, Empower, and Enable’ to encourage communities to live healthy and productive lives, the WESIE founder recently published ‘Truth About Health Exposed’ a holistic health guide to support people in their quest to live healthy. Alongside it she hosts a podcast called ‘The Ma Titia Podcast’ under the name of “Ma Titia” (which means teacher in the Efik tribe of Nigeria), in which she addresses trending topics in health as well as the issues outlined in her book. Proceeds of the book and related activities will go towards furthering the WESIE vision and outreach capacity.

In Career Gems February 4, 2020 By Women of Rubies

Chimamanda Receives Thisday’s ‘woman Of The Decade’ Award

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has received a “Woman of the Decade” award from the Nigerian newspaper THISDAY on the paper’s 25th anniversary. She was selected as the editors’ choice, while the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General and former Federal Minister of Environment Amina J. Mohammed was named the people’s choice.

The award was presented to her by Nigerian Legendary poet and playwright, John Pepper Clark.

The writer wrote:

“JP Clark’s poetry means a lot to me — (and to my character Obinze in AMERICANAH!)⁣
⁣Thank you to @thisdaynewspaper for naming me ‘Woman of the Decade.’ I was delighted to have the award presented by JP Clark.⁣” She said as she shared photos on Instagram.

“The thing about being recognised is that it is not the reason one does what one does, but it is always wonderful to get that validation,” Adichie said. “It means that somebody is saying to you, ‘what you do matters,’ and it is a wonderful feeling. As a Nigerian, it is an even more wonderful feeling to be recognised by my own people. Thanks to the editors at THISDAY and everyone involved in the voting process for the honour of being named ‘Woman of the Decade’ alongside UN Deputy Secretary General, Ms Amina J Mohammed who I admire very much. Congratulations to the entire THISDAY team on your silver jubilee.”

The writer, was earlier named to THISDAY‘s list of “20 Women Who Will Shape Events in Nigeria in 2020,” alongside Amina J Mohammed, former Minster of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, First Lady Aisha Buhari, and pop singer Tiwa Savage.

Women of Rubies congratulates Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

In Inspiration November 4, 2022 By Women of Rubies

10 Female Financial Gurus You Need To Follow

Black female financial gurus are breaking barriers in the personal finance realm. They serve as role models to women everywhere, especially women of color. There’s something inspirational about seeing someone who looks like you achieve the same goal that you want to achieve. Their visibility consistently gives me the motivation to meet my own financial goals because if they can, why can’t I?

These female gurus have helped me in more ways than one because they’ve helped change my money habits and serve as inspiration. I am a regular on their sites, a fan of their books and a member of some of their Facebook groups. Surrounding myself with role models, resources and other women interested in reaching financial goals will surely feed your ambition for financial independence, as it does for me.

Bola Sokunbi, Clever Girl Finance

Photo via CleverGirlFinance

Bola Sokunbi is a Certified Financial Education Instructor, money expert, and a best-selling author of Clever Girl Finance. Her main goal is to help women save money, build real wealth, maintain accountability, and ditch debt. Bola offers a financial education program that provides financial guidance and empowers women. Join Bola at Clever Girl Finance! In our recent interview with Vanessa Ideh, she mentioned Bola Sokunbi as one of the people that inspired her to start Launch To Wealth, a YouTube channel with over 300,000 subscribers.

Michelle Singletary, The Color of Money

Photo via MichelleSingletary.com

Michelle Singletary is a personal finance columnist. She pens The Color of Money, a recurring column in The Washington Post on Wednesdays and Sundays. She is also the author of three personal finance books, a television host, and has appeared on NPR. Subscribe for weekly newsletters to learn how to spend well and live rich!

Kara Stevens, The Frugal Feminista

Photo via TheFrugalFeminista.com

Kara Stevens is determined to help black women step into their financial confidence and eradicate their debt. She has worked with thousands of women as a consultant, speaker, writer, and coach. Be happy. Be healthy. Be brave with Kara!

Patrice Washington, Chase Purpose, Not Money

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Patrice Washington is a financial expert who is redefining wealth. She helps women to live their life’s purpose, find fulfillment, and earn more without chasing money. Patrice is a number one best-selling author and has appeared on dozens of popular media outlets, such as the Steve Harvey Show and Dr. Oz. Subscribe to her newsletter and podcast to live in your purpose!

Tiffany Aliche, The Budgetnista

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Tiffany Aliche is an award-winning financial educator whose mission is to empower women and provide them with resources to create a better life. Her financial movement has helped over 800,000 women and eradicated $75 million in debt. She is a blogger, podcaster, and she has even helped change the legislature in New Jersey (The Budgetnista Law). Join her Live Richer Academy!

Marsha Barnes, The Finance Bar

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Marsha Barnes is a Certified Financial Social Worker, financial educator, and financial commentator. Marsha aims to build your financial confidence. She believes in financial education for all and she even has a financial literacy bus! Join her Members Club!

Dominique Broadway, Finances Demystified

Photo via Financesdemystified.com/

Dominique Broadway is an award-winning financial planner, personal finance coach, speaker, finance expert, entrepreneur and the Founder of Finances De·mys·ti·fied & The Social Money Tour. She has a passion for helping young professionals, entrepreneurs, and people of all ages achieve their dreams. Join her Bootcamp!

Kendra James, The Finance Femme

Photo via The Finance Femme

Kendra James is a virtual CFO and business manager. Kendra specializes in building a structure and financial strategies for business women that are ready to take their business to the next level. She offers a podcast, consultations, coaching for accounting professionals and a virtual CFO service. Sign up for her services!

Melissa Boutin, Your Money Worth

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Treone Lavadain Becomes Police Captain Of LSP

Captain Treone Larvadain becomes the first African-American woman to be a police captain in the Louisiana State Police Department.

On January 28th the Governor John Bel Edwards announced her following the retirement of Captain Clay Chutz, who served the LSP for about 30 years under 6 different governors.

“I am extremely proud of both Captain Larvadain and Captain Chutz and congratulate them on their accomplishments,” said Gov. Edwards. “They have both provided excellent service to the people of our state and exemplify the best of the Louisiana State Police.”

“My family and I are especially grateful for the professional work Captain Chutz has provided to us over the last four years and have the utmost confidence in Captain Larvadain, who has worked alongside him and has now taken over the reins. The longevity of Captain Chutz’s career and the promotion of Captain Larvadain are a direct reflection of their dedication and commitment to the force and our great state,” he continued.

As a woman, Larvadain has proven there is no position you can not have. She been with the force for over a decade, according to a representative from the governor’s office. She started her career in Troop C in March 2006 and then proceeded to the Protective Services in 2008. In 2012, she was promoted to sergeant in the Bureau of Investigations and also served as an instructor at the training academy.

She was promoted to lieutenant in Internal Affairs in 2018. That same year, she also made history with her daughter Tiah as the first-ever mother and daughter to actively serve in the LSP at the same time.

Now, Captain Larvadain’s unit will ensure the safety and security of the state’s current Governor and the Governor’s immediate family.

Congratulations to her!

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