And today, we have Temitope Adelakun, the Convener of Ibadan Business Hub to tell us more about the upcoming event; Ibadan Business Fest.
Read the whole interview below:
You are welcome to Stars Connect, Growth Hub Africa, which is a Subsidiary of Jetheights Services. Stars Connect network is a programme that brings together entrepreneurs, business owners, inspirational speakers, pastors, and leaders in the society, upcoming artistes, NGOs, people giving back to the society and the world at large. We conduct interview sessions to find out everything we can about their journey to stardom, we hope to bring together stars who can be of benefit to one another and who can synergize with Jetheights in other to impact the community. Once again you are welcome to StarsConnect.
Interviewer: Can we meet you ma?
Temitope Adelakun: My name is Temitope Adelakun, I’m the Convener of Ibadan Business Hub.
Interviewer: What’s Ibadan Business Hub all about?
Temitope Adelakun: Ibadan Business Hub is a gathering of Small and Medium scale business owners and the main aim is for us to come together as a strong force to push one another up.
The platform was basically created to enable business owners to gain visibility. It focuses more on SMEs.
Interviewer: How has it been having a Business Hub in Ibadan with the way Ibadan is viewed?
Temitope Adelakun: One of the reasons why Ibadan Business Hub came to life is to demystify some things that are been said about Ibadan, not because we don’t believe that these things are there, yes it is difficult to run businesses in Ibadan, there are lots of stories about Ibadan but the interesting thing is Ibadan is just a business environment like any other environment, it is difficult the way it is because of “we” that form the environment.
Setting up Ibadan Business Hub hasn’t been easy, but it has been encouraging because people understand what the platform is about, they understand the benefits it gives to their businesses, brands and their selves.
I don’t think there is anybody that doesn’t want visibility, no matter how little the visibility you are getting, it’s an addition. So even if you are a large scale business and we are offering you this, it’s an offer, it’s something that should add to you. Despite all these, I’m saying it’s been easy, we’ve been dealing with different kinds of people, some people are tolerant, some are understandable but then we have also had to deal with people who are overbearing that they really stress the life out of you. Despite the fact that you are doing something for them, it’s more like a humanitarian organization, they still react to you in funny ways.
As I said, it hasn’t been easy but it’s been worth a while and we’ve grown, we are almost 2 years now
Interviewer: So how has been the success story going to 2 years now?
Temitope Adelakun: It’s been tremendous really, we’ve learned through the years and we also discovered that when we put in more effort, we get more back.
Interviewer: How do you define success?
Temitope Adelakun: The definition of success is relative. I have spoken with different people and I have discovered that everybody has different opinions about success. First of all, I don’t think success is tied to only financial gains, so for me, success is not about how much you have in your account rather it is about how many lives you’ve touched, how much impact you have made.
Interviewer: Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
Temitope Adelakun: I recently had a long conversation with someone, It’s interesting you should raise this question, in a nutshell, what he said was “Success is a science” in other words, there is a pattern, there are strategies that if you follow, you will actually become a successful person. This is how he explained it if you pick 10, 20 successful people, and they can truthfully tell you what they did, the processes they followed to become successful, if you follow those, there is a high tendency that you also become successful.
Interviewer: Okay, let’s talk about the event; Ibadan Business Fest, can you tell us what this event is all about?
Temitope Adelakun: Ibadan Business Hub came to be because we wanted to give visibility to businesses, to brands, to SMEs but along the line we discovered that despite creating this visibility, some people were still having problems with their businesses, people were still complaining about the environment, so because of this, we included trainings, business training so aside the visibility, we do training.
This now brings me back to the Ibadan Business Fest.
We will be having Business masterclasses and it’s going to be in two different categories, there is one that is free, ( it doesn’t mean it is substandard) and the other one will be paid for because there is going to be a certification attached. There is going to be lots of entertainment too.
This event is going to be a platform where people can showcase what they do. It is like a festival of coming together with business owners in a fun environment.
Last year we called it Ibadan Business Summit, we changed it this year to Ibadan Business Fest we don’t want it to sound too serious so this is an infusion of fun and business
Interviewer: What makes Ibadan Business Fest unique?
Temitope Adelakun: To start with, this organization was birthed with the interest of the society in mind, it is a selfless organization. O every single thing we do or we are doing is not focused on financial gain, it’s about the people that we are trying to impact. So for us at Ibadan Business Hub, it’s about that impact, to change the environment, you need to first reposition the mindset of the people because the people will then change the environment which will, in turn, drive the economy so, in the long run, we are looking to change Ibadan.
Interviewer: What should be the expectations of the attendees of the Fest?
Temitope Adelakun: Come with an open mind, ready to learn, ready to imbibe a change, be prepared to shop at amazingly discounted prices, relax and have fun.
Interviewer: Is this event open to startups and intending business owners?
Temitope Adelakun: Yes!
Interviewer: Can you mention the names of the speakers, special guests for the Ibadan Business Fest?
Temitope Adelakun: We have about six speakers and they all have unique topics about businesses and growth.
Interviewer: Who are those you look up to like mentors, influencers, role models and why?
Temitope Adelakun: I have a lot of people I look up to. I can’t actually start doing a list
Interviewer: Can you tell us the venue, date and all we need to know to attend this event?
Temitope Adelakun:
DATE: Sunday, 27th of October, 2019
VENUE: The Football Field, beside Central Mosque at Bodija Housing Estate, opposite Pentorise Event Centre.
TIME: 11am Prompt.
For inquiries call 08038597411
Interviewer: What would be your advice to someone just starting a business in Ibadan?
Temitope Adelakun: First, know what you want to do, let it align with your passion and your personality. After deciding what business you want to do, know what that business is and then before you set it up, be really sure.
Brand yourself in a way that connects to your audience and then position yourself. You should also know that every now and then, you need to keep on improving.
To conclude, love what you do as an entrepreneur.
Appreciation goes to the Convener, Ibadan Business Hub Temitope Adelakun for setting aside the time to do this.
We want to read about your opinions and inquiries in the comment session.