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Women of Rubies

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A true mother is one who sacrifices for her children, a caregiver who does whatever it takes to put a smile on the faces of her children. In a world where true motherhood is becoming a rarity, Mrs Godwin is an exception

Mrs Godwin is a fish seller and the mother to Joseph, a member of the National Youths Service Corp who recently posted a picture of himself and his mum on social media. In the picture, he is dressed in the NYSC uniform while his mother puts on the NYSC face–cap.The picture was taken in the market where she sells fish. The picture got the attention of Yoruba actress, Toyin Aimakhu.She posted it on her social media platform and it has gone viral since then.

According to Toyin Aimakhu:” God will bless him and his mother. He is a son who will never forget the sacrifice his mother made for him”

In this interview with Women of Rubies, Mrs Godwin shares her inspirational story. It will trigger your emotions and probably make you cry.

The Beginning

My name is Eunice Godwin a fish- seller, she sells frozen and smoked fish. My husband works as a security guard. He lives in Kaduna South, Nassarawa. I gave birth to six children; two boys and four girls .I love my children a lot and would do whatever it takes to make sure they are successful. I was selling orange before but the business was not giving me what I needed to support my family and I started the fish business because I see it as a means to sponsor my children’s education. The fact that I make profit from this business gives me joy and makes me fulfilled,

Challenges

I am facing a lot of challenges in my business. Government workers are against people selling by the roadside and we are always in constant fear that they can show up at any time. Another challenge I face is that my neighbors complain that the smoke coming out from the fishes irritate them .I need a place I can be doing that because I sell smoked and fresh fishes, also most times there is no market and I have to bring the fish back home , these things sometimes want me to give up but I won’t.

READ ALSO : 12 Thing mentally strong women don’t do

Sustaining the business

As a result of the need to sponsor my children’s education, I put in my best and do everything within my power to sustain the business. The profit made is sent to my children in school. I used the profits made from selling fish to sponsor my child who is currently undertaking his national youth service and others who just gained admission. I have always dreamt of sponsoring my children to the university and this is already happening

Giving up

I sometimes feel like giving up on my business. I buy the fishes on credit and pay at the end of the day. Sometimes I am not able to pay all because I would need the money, to be sent to my son in school. This makes me owe the person who sold the fishes to me .I am still paying the debt because it is much

Viral picture

When my son told me the picture we took has spread I was really surprised. I didn’t really look beautiful in the picture. I am really happy for it. My son was used by God to make the picture go that far.

Advice to Mothers

Take care of your children and they will take care of you, seedtime and harvest time will not seize.

Being a Woman of Rubies

I see Proverbs31:10-31 as a reflection of the person God created me to be. This makes me a Woman of Rubies

Building Networks of Entrepreneurs
I have various projects I am working on, but the most recent ones are my upcoming show and coaching programme for mumpreneurs. Over the years, I have built a network of entrepreneurs, entrepreneur associations and regulators like NASME (National Association of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises), TIC (Technology Incubation Centre), FIIRO (Federal Institute of Industry and Research Oshodi), and EDC (Enterprise Development Centre), among others. As a result, I have a body of knowledge that I know entrepreneurs need in order to get ahead. I already get calls and requests from people looking to start businesses and I tell them, “Ask me anything. If I don’t know, I at least know someone who does.” I am building a structure around that, and it will all be housed on my new website, mumpreneur.ng, so entrepreneurs do not have to grope in the dark anymore.

Empowering Entrepreneurs
Although I have a background in engineering, I have always loved the expression of anything through art. In my third year at the University of Lagos, I got a few friends together and we formed a group called “Kolo Manifest.” Lol! We started presenting plays about the struggles of being engineering students at our year-end dinners and events. It was unprecedented. Engineers were expected to be a certain way, nerdy and serious mostly. I wasn’t. This is my third year as a Global Entrepreneurship Week partner of the Enterprise Development Centre. Last year, I teamed up with the Spirit of Enterprise to do a N50,000 challenge for upcoming entrepreneurs. This year, however, I decided to step away from the norm and do something different. Entrepreneurship is stressful enough; we are out there building capacity and learning every day. Let’s just hang out and learn differently. You are more likely to remember a lesson you got from a movie or play than from some lecture. So, the question is, why not a play?

The challenge being asked: what do you do?
My first major challenge was defining what exactly I was doing. I did everything and anything. I just had the passion to share, to express myself and tell my story. It took a while to really see where this was going. I would go for networking events and when people asked, “What do you do?” I would sigh and not know quite where to start! Lol. How do you deliver an elevator pitch when you don’t even know how to define what you do?Secondly, no matter how passionate you are, if you are not making money, you will get frustrated. So my second challenge was streamlining and monetising my projects and activities. I met an amazing strategist recently and we have built a winning team. Watch out! Hehe….

Balancing it all
Balancing the home front and work is not a one-time achievement. It’s a journey, a process that I improve on every single day. I have built a process that works for me. I also have an amazing support system in my husband, parents and siblings. I must mention my nanny here; she has been with me almost five years. I have a whole blog post dedicated to my search for a nanny and how hectic it was. I used to try to do everything myself. I still do sometimes, but the truth is, it is not sustainable. A typical day for many mumpreneurs I know here is from breakfast, to school run, to business run, to maybe second-leg school run, then lunch, then homework, then dinner, then work when the kids are asleep, sleep, wake up, repeat! No wonder many women look older than their husbands!

Being one of 50 game changers in Nigeria
I recently received an Xceptional Women’s Role Models award for my contribution to enterprise. I didn’t see that coming; it was a great surprise and encouragement that confirmed the value of my work. I also got listed as one of the top 50 game changers in Nigeria by the Keniisplace blog. Another reward that is priceless and cannot be quantified is the joy in an entrepreneur’s face when they find a solution through me for something they have been struggling with for a while. An example is when I introduced someone to the Technology Incubation Centre where she was able to finally sort out her NAFDAC registration.Advice to women
Find out what makes you happy and do it! It’s your life.

Being Exceptional
I think one of the greatest assets I have is my positivity, I don’t take life too seriously. As a result, I am always (well almost always) happy. When you are in a happy place, you are unstoppable.