Swapped Neurosurgery Dreams for Millionaire Mindset: Rethink 9‑5 Jobs | Debbie Adeyinka—DOSI S1 E6

I got bullied for literally being an

African child in school. Got bullied

really bad when I came in. This was

2011. They think we talk like that kind

of vibe. So they would say,

"How are you today?" And I was just

like, "We don't talk like that." Like I

hated going to school every day. Like I

didn't look forward to going to school.

>> I remember I would stay in the toilet.

Like I would literally be [music] hiding

from people. So I got bullied so bad

that my mom had to go to school and like

actually fight them. I had a

relationship with my mom and my mom knew

me like if my mood changed. I wanted to

be a pediatric neurosurgeon. Benasi gave

me so much hope. By the time I was done

with high school, I was just like,

"Yeah, I'm not doing that."

And then I [music] started doing makeup

at the age of 16. I worked in a law firm

[music] for a couple of years. I did PPI

at some point and then I moved into

software testing. I worked for about 2

years as a business analyst. Um got

married as a business analyst. And what

I would advise to parents is be friends

with your child cuz you never know what

they're going through until they're

comfortable enough to talk to you. You

wouldn't know what's going on in their

life. And I think that's why a lot of

like immigrant children struggle. Don't

struggle to fit in. I mean you're

unique.

>> Just be who you are. If they don't like

you, that's their problem. I could have

just [music] not put in effort to making

friends because the harder I tried, the

worse it got.

>> What strategies or habit kind of help

[music] you to stay focused on maybe a

business idea?

>> Just the fear of not having enough.

>> Yeah,

>> it scares me. Being poor scares me.

>> I want to be a millionaire and I can't

be a millionaire doing 9 to5. I know

that.

>> How did Kofer do you start? quit my job

in 2022 [music]

December. Just woke up one day. I told

my husband I want to start selling Zubo.

And the guy looked at me,

>> how do you move from [music] one place

to the other in terms of career

diary of successful immigrants.

>> Hello there. Thank you so much for your

support thus far uh on this podcast. Uh

please continue to like, continue to

subscribe, continue to comment and also

if you're interested in sharing your

story, please get across to us um just

by using um the contact details you can

see on the screen at the moment. Um this

is diary of successful immigrants and

the aim is to continue to share success

story. It's not about the politics, it's

about the journey to success.

All right. So, um, do you actually know

the first time I kind of met you? I'm

not sure if I really met you directly. I

met your husband, not really meeting

actually, but the first time I noticed

you guys, there was this day um I think

I just came to the UK like a month or

something.

>> Mhm.

>> And um a friend of mine was driving us

was driving me and then we were I think

we're going to play football or

something.

>> Then we saw you and your husband around

LS12.

>> Really?

>> Yeah. I think you guys were I think your

former um mechanic was there.

>> Yes.

>> Yeah. So

>> So you were

>> Yeah. around that area. So um what's he

called?

>> Um your your husband called my friend's

name. I was just like, "Hey." Then I was

like, "Who is that guy?" Was like, "Ah,

it's a ball."

>> Hey, [laughter]

was like a baller. I was like, "Okay."

Then the next time I noticed him around,

I've always been a Jaguar lover. Like

before I came to the UK, one of my Yeah.

One of my dream cars was like, I'm going

to buy a Jaguar. Like I'm just going to

buy like a very nice Jaguar and stuff.

>> So then I saw him pull up in a red

Jaguar. I was like, whoa, wow, this car

is indeed living up to that. You get it?

[laughter] Then not to speak much. Then

the next time I saw him pull up with a

range, I was like, whoa. difficult

[laughter]

>> who is this person? So, and then I got

to meet you then then met your mom and

stuff and you know while I was just um

preparing the list of

>> of was it called of the guest on this

podcast and I was speaking to somebody

I'm not going to mention the name I've

told you over and over again.

>> The person was like you must get Debbie

on your podcast. I was like okay that

you must get Debbie on your podcast. I

was like, "So, here we are. [laughter]

Debbie is on the podcast. I mean, the

CEO of Kufa Juice. Um, you've also

sponsored a lot of our episodes. Thank

you very much. We're so grateful." Yeah.

So, walk me through it. Um,

coming into the UK, how did it happen

for you? Honestly, I was 12 and my mom's

been here like 4 years prior and um

>> Wait, so so you mean your mom like

>> my mom came to the UK before we did?

>> Before you did. But what I mean for

those four years, you didn't see her?

>> She came to Nigeria once.

>> Okay.

>> And that was like a year before we came.

So

>> Okay.

>> It was just like, okay. Um

>> obviously I was young. So I just I just

know we went to KA we did the whole

process and we did like 2 days the visa

was out

>> and my dad just saying now oh you're

going to the UK in my head I was just

like I'm finally going to see my mom. I

didn't process that we actually moving

like relocating our life

>> um cuz my brother was still in school

>> and was doing his work at that point. So

I was just like okay we're going to come

back home because we can't leave my

brother. Yeah.

>> And then we got to the UK a month later.

My mom was like, "Oh, you're starting

school." I said, "Huh?" [laughter]

>> I was really excited. I was like, "Oh,

finally, you know, I'm in UK. I'm with

my mom, my dad." And then my brother

came in in June. We came in in March.

And my brother came in in June after his

exams.

>> And [clears throat]

high school in the UK is so different

from like

>> the one in

>> Nigeria. And when I came in, this was

2011, mind you. This is when they talk

about like Africans like they think we

talk like that kind of vibe. So they

would say

[laughter] how are you today? And I was

just like we don't talk like that. Like

it doesn't make sense for you to

actually talk to me like that. And they

will ask ridiculous questions like oh do

you live in the heart? Do you ride the

lion?

>> Yeah. Like yeah it was actually that

bad. And um you know they'll label you a

freshy. Obviously, I'm [clears throat]

here with my proper Nigerian babe

accent, but like in Nigeria, they'll

say, "Oh, you have a little bit of a

buty accent."

>> So, like me coming from that to people

saying that, "Oh, you sound so fresh off

the boat." Like it was a massive shock.

And when I was in Nigeria, I was in SS1

at 12.

>> Oh, okay.

>> I got to the UK. Yeah.

>> SS1 at 12.

>> Yes.

>> How did you do it? [laughter]

>> I'm a smart babe. I mean,

>> I like money and I'm smart. Um, so I got

to the UK and I had to go back to year 8

and this was the point where year 8 was

rounding up.

>> Rounding up like

>> I was so sad because to me it was like

ah I went back to GSS2 like I remember

my parents doing everything they were

like oh she's really good she's smart

she was doing chemistry physics biology

and they're like no it's according to

your age. So I started and

I mean what we were doing in year eight

sounded like something I was doing in

firmy five. Oh,

>> I didn't do physics, chemistry, biology

until year 10. And that's like saying in

SS2 coming out

>> high school I think high school I feel

like the UK system kind of dumps you

down if you're coming from Nigeria like

you know you're on fire.

>> Let me actually pick you up on that. You

know, one thing I've noticed with a lot

of all these kids that come is that

>> actually they always top of their class.

>> There was this kid I met I mean he's

part of the production crew is behind

the camera. There was a time you was

just like h I don't need to do anything.

It's very simple. I'll always be like I

would always stop. How was it for you?

Like what?

>> For me at that point like the racism was

subtle. Okay.

>> That's what I would say. So like in

class they would ask I remember this

vividly. It was our maths lesson

>> and they were asking this question. This

is me that have done Pythagoras theorem

from like GS2. So they were asking a

question that was like find X or

something. I didn't even need to work

out. I just knew the answer. And every

time I was raising up my hand, the

teacher would ignore me completely

>> because obviously like what does this

black African child know?

>> And obviously when we do assignments and

stuff, I'm getting [clears throat] top

scores. Like I'm the only person like

actually doing well. But after a while,

I just, you know, I was just like I

don't want anyone to start thinking

>> like I was feeling very inferior. like I

didn't want to answer questions in class

anymore.

>> I think you jumped to this case topic

very fast. You know, there was a time

like I was riding with your mom. Um I

don't know where we were going to and

she mentioned something about like me

paying attention to my boy and not let

him get um get stigmatized and all of

this thing. And then she shared an exper

she was just like ah if you know my

daughter there was a time she was being

stigmatized in school and she she

stopped eating at home. She didn't want

to go. Can you share actually that?

>> Oh, I got bullied really bad. I got

bullied for literally being an African

child in school.

>> Oh.

>> Um, I remember I cut my hair and they

would use my hair. I had like a little

afro and I [clears throat] remember

someone in class would come science

sessing, he would call me Jackson 5

singing into my hair like a microphone.

>> The bullying was really bad. Um, I

remember I was trying to make friends.

Um, and I would give my phone. So,

>> my mom got me the latest Blackberry

>> and you know, just trying to make

friends in school. I would give my phone

to this girl from like 7:50 we start

school to like 3:00 p.m. She would have

my phone, she would log into Facebook,

talk to people on Blackberry and all

that stuff, take pictures with her

friends. Obviously, I'm here trying to

make friends. So, I'm always like,

"Well, do whatever you want."

>> So, I think that was the days where you

have a scream munch. She kind of

screamed a picture of like some group of

girls from school that actually were

bullying me

>> and then they found out and they were

like, "Oh, Debbie is a stalker." Blah,

blah, blah. I got so I got bullied so

bad that my mom had to go to school and

like actually fight them.

>> Yeah.

>> Because like why are you bullying my

child? And this is me that I've never

experienced bullying.

>> Yeah. you know, you top of your game,

that's where you're

>> and I think it's a case of

>> obviously when you're in Nigeria, you

know you're black, you know you're

African, like everyone is pretty much

the same. And then you come here, they

make it so apparent that you're so

different from them. They don't like

you. Your accent is different.

>> It was quite difficult and I was really

scared that when my little brother comes

to school, it's going to be the same

experience. But this boy just was a

breeze. Like he literally flew through

school. Hey, in your class what? Like

you didn't have any like maybe a black

um

>> we had black people but it was in my

year

>> we were probably like maybe six

Africans.

>> Okay.

>> But they were here longer. So nobody was

like new to the country like me. I was

the only one new to the country in the

whole year

>> up until like year 10 when some guys

from South Africa came in. But like the

other people that were here that were

Africans, we had a lot of like

Caribbeans and Jamaicans

>> and obviously then it was it was not

cool to be African when I came in and I

remember when um the band released that

song Oliver Twist that was when it

started becoming cool to be African and

like people would you know vibe to the

song. So like in school you every year

would pick a music they will play every

day. So like on the corridors during

break or like when you're going to

different classes they'll play different

songs and you know people say and

they're like oh this da da da.

[laughter]

>> Um

>> then that's when you're proud Nigerian.

>> I still wasn't proud to be Nigerian like

I just never spoke about like you know

being from Nigeria and all that stuff

>> and you know the way like in Nigeria

like you can be from a small place and

they'll say oh you're from a royal

family and stuff. I was trying to

explain that to someone and they just

misconstrued me and like just took

everything out and they're like, "Well,

Deb says she's a princess. She's

[laughter] on princess protection

program."

>> I was like, "H from where to where?"

Like honestly, it was really bad. I

didn't enjoy high school at all. It

started getting better about year 11.

>> So, how did you get out of it? Like, who

would you say helped you out of the

whole thing in school or

>> nobody? [laughter]

Nobody like I hated going to school

every day like I didn't look forward to

going to school.

>> I think here 11 got better because my

math teacher amazing amazing woman um

she would you know I would just stay

after school to avoid my bullies.

>> Okay.

>> I remember there were group of like

girls that tried to jump me

>> and I was like you want to jump in Niger

like she pulled my backpack and I

>> kind of swung my backpack and I beat

them. broke her glasses. They reported

me to the principal and the person was

like, "Yeah, I don't believe that we did

that." Because my mom was coming to

school a lot at this point that my

daughter is getting bullied. I remember

I would stay in the toilet. Like I would

literally be hiding from people. Um

>> one of the people who kind of

facilitated was like a main catalyst

behind me getting bullied. She died like

last year and I felt nothing. Oh,

>> I was just like,

>> "Oh,

that's so sad."

>> But but like just not to cut you off,

but one thing I wanted to know is during

that process, was was there ever a time

that you kind of rushed to anybody in

the school to kind of like explain

yourself?

>> I say it was mainly like the teachers.

Like my head of year was a black man.

>> Okay. And then we had like our key stage

workers. We had a couple of black people

there and like my mom would talk to him

and they just kind of protected me in

school. Like if they notice that I'm

down they would, you know, call me into

like student care.

>> Most times I'll be doing my classes in

student care. Like I wasn't in the main

class because it was getting too much.

Um

>> but things are getting better in like

year 10, year 11 because then everyone

was preparing for GCSEs. No one really

had time play around.

>> Yeah. So, everyone was kind of focused.

And then the people who were main

bullies, of course, they were in the

lower set. So,

>> we weren't really in class. The only

time I would see them was like during

break times.

>> So, for me, it was just like, okay,

that's fine. I don't get to see you. And

then obviously year 11,

>> then

>> did our GCS, I was like, finally, I

don't have to see you people again.

>> So, did you go to prom?

>> I did go to prom and

>> it was nice. I went with like, you know,

just one person that I really like and

we're still friends till today. Um,

>> so I went to prom with her and some

group of girls that I don't really talk

to, [laughter]

>> but I mean, we went to prom. It was

nice. And after that day, I was like,

"Yeah, I don't I don't get to see you

people until dates. I haven't seen a lot

of them."

But what what advice will you typically

give to a parents that maybe the child

is going through something similar

somewhere around the world? It might not

be in the UK. I feel the UK has is

growing past that now has grown past

that. [clears throat] But

>> maybe somewhere just somewhere in the

world and they just moved in and

>> what what would you tell maybe a parent

that

>> um for me I think what helped was that I

had a relationship with my mom

>> and my mom knew me like if my mood

changed.

I was able to talk to my mom and what I

would advise to parents is be friends

with your child.

>> Like honestly be friends with your child

because you never know what they're

going through until they're comfortable

enough to talk to you.

>> You wouldn't know what's going on in

their life. And I think that's

[clears throat] why a lot of like

immigrant children struggle because I

mean like we're raised in this you know

kind of

>> parenting in Nigeria and I think things

are changing as well like people are

getting more aware about it mental

health issues and all that stuff. So, um

I think the fact that my mom

>> was also like a mental health elf nurse

that helped um she noticed the things

early on

>> and she was able to like find things to

like help me. Sometimes she'll walk me

to the bus stop. Sometimes she'll come

to my school randomly during the day

>> just to check on me.

>> To check on me. Oh, that's nice. On the

flip side, what would you tell a young

girl like you that is going through

something like that or a young boy like

you that is going through something like

that in school? Or what what do you

think you could have done now as a

grownup person

>> that you could have actually like

>> I think I could have just not put in

effort to making friends because the

harder I tried the worse it got. Like

they just obviously they knew you were

desperate to fit in. I'll tell them

don't struggle to fit in. I mean, you're

unique.

>> Just be who you are. If they don't like

you, that's their problem. I remember

high school would end. Like 5 years is a

long time, but honestly, it will end.

And you don't get to see these people

again. So, why not like just be you? you

you know like as you're sharing this my

wife has said over and over again she

also schooled abroad and then she moved

I think when she was 12 or something

>> and she said she actually was literally

begging to her friends.

>> Yeah.

>> So I was I can't comprehend like me I

didn't even know like when [laughter]

>> when I became friends with my friends.

You get what I mean? But then she was

like until like for her it was even bad.

It was worse because she was the only

black lady in the class. I think it was

the next year that another black girl

joined

>> the same class. So she said she had to

be begging that she would like not

really begging. She had to go speak to

can we be friends and stuff like that.

It's it's still something that I'm

wrapping my head around. But I think

it's a call for parents that when you

are in a new environment, not just

black, not just white, when you move to

a new location, you should pay attention

to your children. You should pay

attention to what is going on in

>> Yeah.

>> Let's leave this school thing.

>> Yeah. [laughter]

>> Um let's talk about a bit of did you

have any like as a young girl coming

into this country, did you have any

hopes or dreams like coming?

>> I wanted to be a pediatric neurosurgeon.

>> Whoa. Yes, Benasi gave me so much hope

and to be fair, I feel like if I was in

Nigeria, I probably would have done

medicine.

>> Okay.

>> But um

>> but you were smart. I mean, you were an

SS at the age of 12. [laughter]

>> But um I got to this country and I mean

with school you didn't even get to do

sciences properly. So before you don't

do sciences properly until college when

you actually pick your sciences. Yeah.

>> Um, by the time I was done with high

school, I was just like, "Yeah, I'm not

doing that."

>> Um, I just I feel like from that point,

I never really know what I wanted to do.

I just know that I wanted to work for

myself.

>> That's all I knew. I didn't know that

was going to happen, but I just knew I

wanted to work for myself.

>> Um, and then I started doing makeup.

>> Oh.

>> At the age of 16,

>> like makeup business or just makeup

business? Yeah, I did makeup business um

up until I was like 22.

>> Whoa.

>> So, I did that for a bit. Um and in

between like I was selling like human

hair, I was making wigs, I did Mary Kay,

I did a

>> wa

>> and I think the best part was my parents

supported me through it.

>> Yeah. So, what actually brought about

this entrepreneurship um um mindset in

you? Uh because I think at 16 you're

meant to kind of be focused on college.

>> Yeah.

>> And all those things. So what brought

about the whole Mary Kay women here and

all this?

>> Um I don't know. I just think it's the

kind of personality I have like I need

to be doing something.

>> Okay.

>> And I just knew I want to be a

millionaire and I can't be a millionaire

doing 9 to5. I know that.

>> So

>> I was like I'm good at like talking to

people. I'm good at actually selling

stuff. I can sell things to you.

>> So, I started with Mary Kay. I remember

my dad bought the first kit for me. I

think it was like £150. This was like in

2014.

>> And then I did Avon on the side. Started

selling hair, doing makeup. And it was

actually booming cuz there weren't a lot

of makeup artists in leads then. I think

it was like three of us.

>> Oh, so you were getting wedding events

almost every year. Yeah, I actually did

my first wedding in 2015 and then after

that I had like subsequent brides.

>> Um yeah, I I just I just knew that I

wanted to make money. That was literally

it for me.

>> So So business started [laughter]

for you from maybe Mary and stuff. You

mentioned that you want to be a

millionaire which obviously you

approaching at the moment if not more

than that. I don't want to go into your

financial details [laughter] here, but

but the thing is how did it drop in your

mind? Was it just more like you saw

something and you just like

>> I'll never be poor again.

>> I like good things. Like my parents

always say I have very expensive taste.

Like even if you go to the store to buy

like school shoes or like clothes or

anything, I'm picking like the things in

the hundreds and my mom would say, "Do

you want me to rob a bank?" or like she

would say things like, "I think it's

time for you to start working."

>> So like I just know like I like good

things.

>> The only way to get good things is

actually work hard.

>> That's literally my motivation.

>> Wow.

>> So um let let me push the conversation

forward now. You you were doing you were

doing makeup and your personal business

and then you were in college.

>> Yes.

>> Yeah. And then after college

>> after college um I wasn't sure. I was

applying for uni and I was going to do

law.

>> Okay.

>> But I was never sure what kind of law I

wanted to do. And I to be fair, I didn't

even know what I wanted to do with my

life. I just know that

>> you wanted to be a millionaire.

>> Yeah. [laughter]

Um and then I applied to do law. I got

into University of Law, University of

Bedford, couple of universities and

I got an apprenticeship opportunity and

you know I started I was just like not

really. Um that was in law and then I

worked in a law firm for a couple of

years and it was immigration law.

>> Okay.

>> And that was really depressing. I didn't

like it. And I just knew that Yeah. cuz

when I did my research, immigration was

one that will most likely give you

money.

>> That will take you to that one.

>> Yeah. But it was too depressing. I'm so

happy to do that kind of role. It was a

lot. Um, and being an immigrant as well,

like seeing other immigrants go through

a lot of things, like I just did not

want to be in that space.

>> And then I worked as a KYC analyst.

>> Okay.

>> I've worked with two of the big five or

big four.

>> What is KYC analyst?

>> Know your customers. So basically when

you're opening a bank accounts, all the

questions, verifications, I was doing

that.

>> Wait, was who taught you this? Is that

how you met? [laughter]

Maybe

not really. Um I just kind of did like

courses online certifications.

>> Okay.

>> Um then it was like a glorified customer

service job. So it's easy to get

customer service. But that particular

role I fell into was a KYC role.

>> Um I did PPI at some point. PPI was a

contract role. A lot of people were

doing PPI. Um and then I moved into

software testing.

>> Wow.

And then

>> but you so the way you always said that

then I moved into this I moved into

this. It looked more like you I you can

just wake up today and just be like yeah

today I decide to I want to start doing

software testing. How do you move from

one of the from one place to the other

in terms of career? Like

>> um I think the people I started working

with and by the time we're all done with

PPI and PPI contract was ending.

>> Okay.

>> The next easier role to do was software

testing and I just kind of went with the

masses. Oh, all of us that did PPI KYC,

we all moving into software testing. Me

too. I moved into it. Like the thing is

you would do courses. there were people

were doing so that

>> after a while being in tech I was like I

actually quite like this but I want

something that is a little bit of guy

like I'm the boss yeah more money and

that was business analysis I did the

training and then started the role I

worked for about 2 years as a business

analyst um got married as a business

analyst

>> and my husband was also doing software

testing and he was moving into

automation and all that stuff. One of my

business analysis role was robotics and

engineering and I really enjoyed that.

Um

>> but I just knew my millionaire status

cannot compete with your business

analyst.

>> So um I still had my makeup business on

the side

>> at this point.

>> That was even what I wanted to ask that

is it like you stopped the

>> No, I never stopped. I was making like

money. So my salary was savings. My

makeup money was actually running some

months. I was making more money from my

makeup than my salary. Yeah. So, I was

doing all that still on the side. Um,

>> and then

>> 2022 after I got married, before I got

married, I told my husband, I said, "I

don't want to work anymore."

>> And the girl, to be fair, he's such an

amazing person. I was like, "Okay,

>> but wait, let's not let's not get let's

not get there too fast. Let's not get

there too fast." You did uh business in

our list and you stayed on that for a

while. Now on this podcast, one thing

I've noticed or a trend I'm noticing um

from interviewing different people is if

you are in this kind of climate, you

need a lot of certification.

>> Yes.

>> And you've I mean I can count like five

certifications you you've kind of like

you've talked about now.

>> Um so I don't want you to come to Kofi

Juice which we're still going to talk a

lot about. But

>> what does this certification do like for

somebody that is just going to a new

country? What do you advise in terms of

doing different certifications?

>> I think it just gives you more knowledge

into the role you're going into. Okay.

And for someone like me that didn't go

to uni, it was like a boost to say, oh,

you've got something to back up your

experience or you've got some sort of

knowledge and like you're certified in

this kind of area.

>> Um, that's basically what certification

is.

>> Yes. So, I wanted to pick up on that. So

um do you would you advise more like so

imagine now there's a family that's at a

crossroad and let's let's use UK as an

example if maybe like

>> uh my children are like maybe like in

their 18 19 20s and stuff and I know I

can afford like the international fee um

at the moment

>> will you say that yeah they can just

look for a niche and the child can keep

doing certifications on that niche and

then get a lot of you get what I mean

get a lot of

profile and then just move into that

role.

>> Yeah. Um at some points that that was

like a thing that a lot of people were

doing like it was

>> something you focus on like a specific

area you do a lot like Prince 2

certification you do a lot of like

>> did you do prince too? I did print two.

I did business analysis. I did software

testing.

>> I mean just have all this.

>> What of APMG?

>> I didn't.

>> You didn't do APM? I didn't do that.

>> Yeah. You know, while I'm asking why I'm

asking that it's it's because it's

important. And

>> was there any time that you ever felt

like um somebody that went to school had

an advantage over like your

certification? I think all the

interviews I've done, all the interviews

I did like while job hunting and even

getting into like senior roles, no one

ever asked me for my uni certificate.

>> That's that's the that's the most

amazing thing. You know, I've I'm I'm

think I'm still job hunting while I'm

recording this, but then I have

something I'm doing at the moment. Every

time I see most jobs, there's there's

really not much that says a lot about

degrees and stuff. I think the UK job

market prioritizes experience over

certific.

Yeah. And

>> I think I worked I think where I knew

that okay I need to do more

certifications and forget about uni was

when my manager in

one of the big fives I was working with

>> she was 21 years old

>> and she's a top manager. Whoa.

>> And I was speaking with her and she

said, "Oh, I just did certifications. I

started off as a customer service

>> [clears throat]

>> um assistant and then just kind of

worked my way up."

>> From British descent um or from Asia.

>> She's mixed

>> mixed.

>> Yeah. She's mixed half white, half

>> half Asian.

>> Yeah.

>> Half white, half black.

>> Oh. Wow.

>> Yeah. And she was like, she's actually

really black person. So she was like, I

just did a lot of certification. I

refuse to go to uni because I just feel

like it's a waste of money. Why am I

accumulating debts when I can actually

just start somewhere and a lot of um

workplaces like companies they will

actually offer you like courses like ask

if you want to like progress

>> and before they hire someone outside

they would have done like

>> you know the job hunting like within the

company. So your manager would, you

know, put you forward for the roles or

like they'll say, "Oh, I think you're a

good fit." And she said that was how she

kind of climbed up. I mean, at 21, you

were making crazy money

>> without having a uni.

>> Like you you talk about like making 60s

or 70s.

>> At that point, I'm talking about like

four, five years ago, if you're making

60 70k. That's good money.

>> That's good money. Yeah. Wo. So at 21.

working with like different managers and

realizing that a lot of them didn't go

to uni.

>> It's just like well I started as a

receptionist or I started as an

assistant and everyone is like working

their way up to man managerial

>> manial. Do do you actually know that I

have a very different perspective to

this because as somebody that went to

school over

>> over and over again like lot of degrees

and stuff I feel there is a plus to it

and I also feel there's there's a very

serious disadvantage to this thing.

Please continue to like, continue to

subscribe, continue to comment and also

if you're interested in sharing your

story, please get across to us um just

by using um the contact details you can

see on the screen at the moment.

>> Diary of successful immigrants.

>> Actually, let me draw you back. You

know, I don't want to fogg this bullying

thing too much, but uh was it like it

was the white student? Because sometimes

when we say things like this, it tends

to be easily constructed like it's a

thing of white against black and

something like that. Actually, um which

which kind of um race?

>> It was the black students,

>> but they were not Africans. So,

>> that's I mean it was a time where

>> if you're non-African, you're superior

to Africans. That's the notion everyone

had.

>> Okay.

>> And I just did not understand it because

to me we are both the same skin color.

Like if a white person saw us, they

wouldn't know if you're African or

you're Jamaican or Caribbean. Like

you're all black to me.

>> That's that's a bit strange. I I feel we

should do better. And maybe for somebody

watching this podcast, um I feel

everyone should do better. The world is

a good place for everybody. Um it's not

about your color. It's not about your

heritage or anything. just be the best

you can to the next person beside you.

Now, let's come back to this um key um

what was it called this things you were

doing software testing and all and all

those things and you know we're talking

about certification and stuff and like I

said um you [clears throat] know you

were just saying it off off camera that

uh there's this person that watch it now

just be like you must go to school

[laughter] again.

>> Yes.

>> Yeah. But I I I I kind of feel that the

approach towards having a degree in this

country is not the best. Maybe it's

because I'm so much um a degree person

and I've also lived in Asia. I would say

I I lived in China at some point

>> and let me tell you the funny thing.

Most some entry levelvel jobs in China,

you need a master's degree.

>> No way.

>> I'm telling you. So um

>> so you're forced to go to school.

>> Yeah. No, that's a given. Like you

can't. So when you stop at first degree

sometimes it's for some it looks like

you are actually it's either you're

extremely brilliant and you're going to

work at somewhere or you are going into

business. So if somebody wanted to do

like this makeup and all those things

they stop at first degree but like I

used to work in an electrical lab

>> and most of our students they do masters

and after doing that masters I mean they

do first degree four years masters for

three years

>> what [laughter]

>> and after that three years do you know

what happens when they get employed

>> in um an electrical company and stuff

they go for training for like six to

eight months

No way.

>> Yeah. Before they now like they now

deployed out there and maybe that's one

of the reasons that they do some of the

crazy things they do. Uh but let's not

let's let everybody keep their opinion

about this thing and stuff. But um now

[clears throat] how did Kofa Juice start

for you?

>> Um like I said I quit my job in 2022

December 31st. Wow.

>> I resigned. I said yeah I'm not doing

this anymore. But prior to that, that

summer, I just woke up one day and I

told my husband, I want to start selling

Zobo. And the guy looked at me, he said,

"Anything food and drinks related

business? My head is not there. You're

on your own." And I [laughter] was like,

"You supposed to there's nothing you can

do about it." And then I got pregnant. I

couldn't do Zobo because I can't have

Zobo when I'm pregnant. And I was doing

a lot of trial and error.

>> Um 6 weeks postpartum, my body just was

not I said I have to start this

business. Nobody can start this

business.

>> And I started um I remember the first

time we sold, we didn't even have like

labels or like stickers on it.

>> And I just sold to like my friends and

everyone was like, "Oh my god, this is

amazing. This is nice."

>> But when I was starting the business on

like makeup and

>> you know hair and all that stuff with

makeup, it's a trend. You follow the

trend. But with this business, I've had

to actually study. M

>> so like study about like the species of

leaves how to sweeten and before I go on

what I wanted the brand to be was no

sugar like we don't use refined sugar we

use sugars from like dates pineapples

apples so it's

>> so you don't even use sweetener

>> no we don't

>> we use just fruits

>> and I didn't realize how much

>> mathematics I mean if You go to school

and you say, "Oh, I'll never use maths

in my life." Is it like you use math?

Because I've had to do a lot of

calculations

like you know for recipes weighing like

one one cannot be more than the other. I

didn't think about all these things. For

me it was just add fruits and that's it.

But like with time I realized that um

when we first started

>> the taste we had last week is not the

taste we had today. and I had to sit

down and actually write down the

measurements and get consistent um

recipe.

>> But because we use fruits also sourcing

like um vendors for like you know the

fruits at a cheaper rate so at least

when we sell to the market it's not too

expensive. There were a lot of

technicalities that I did not think

about.

>> I'm so grateful for my husband because

he's one that ended up sitting me down

and saying you have to find solution to

this your inconsistent taste.

>> Wow. So um we started that and then he

said why don't you brand like your

bottles rather than using stickers like

standouts. A lot of like the ideas for

the business expansion came from him.

>> Actually, wait before we go to the

business expansion, what was what was

the thing that made you want to

continue? Because um it's easily it's

easy for people to brand you like uh

antiso.

>> Yeah, I [laughter] actually got that a

lot.

>> You get like and so what kind of created

that thick skin, you know, coming from a

perspective of somebody that wants to

make a million.

>> Yeah. and was like and how did you say 1

million like millions of pounds in zoo

like how did you say you know it's it's

it's actually very no I don't know

>> I'm a very strong believer in God like

God is the center of everything for me

>> and I keep telling people that this

business idea was an inspiration from

God because prior to this I don't drink

zubo but the last time I had zuba was in

Nigeria

>> so it wasn't something that I was crazy

about

>> and I remember I just woke up one day

and I said there's I'm going to start

selling and my husband just looked at me

like [laughter]

and he said I like I knew he was going

to support me

>> but the goal was for us to you know

you've been doing makeup and then like

the goal was to have my own studio

>> like even have like a big studio hire

people to work

>> and I can make my millions from that

like if you want to book me as a head

makeup artist you have to pay good money

that was the goal so like me moving from

that to Zobo was a very massive

>> this thing for him.

>> So were there setback that tested your

resolve at the beginning? Um

>> yeah the pricing um a few people

complained about the pricing and then

marketing it to people. So we started

off marketing it to like African stores

>> and

the kind of insult we've we've taken

that people say is it not Zobo? was in

Zo [laughter] and like I'm here now

trying to market that there's no added

sugar and there are a couple of people

for me it was very important cuz I've

just had a baby then

>> and I was I really believed I'll be one

of those mom no sugar

>> like I wanted my child to be able to

have something that I know what's the

content yeah healthy but at the same

time refreshing and then I had a couple

of people who were close to me who are

diabetic and hypotensive so if you've

got high blood pressure zoo does bring

that down

>> okay And then with diabetes as well,

like using fruits, like if I poured

sugar in it, I know that will spike

their sugar levels. So I wanted like

everyone around me to be able to have a

taste of what I'm I'm selling.

>> Like it wouldn't make sense if they're

not able to drink it because of health

issues and all that stuff.

>> So for me, I was very particular about

it. And like I said, God gave me this

business idea and I had to run with it.

>> Yeah. Um how did you break into the

market? like um so I remember like the

Zobu thing the first time I bought from

you. Um let's talk about how you broke

into the market before I talk about your

branding because for me I think your

branding went from zero to like 500

within like 3 6 months.

>> Did you remember the time I ordered like

is it 400 pouches five pouches and I

think I ordered one or two if I think it

was two

>> the 5 liter pouches. Yeah, it was two

that I ordered and it just came and you

just ended it and then the next time I

just saw boom

>> like everything has changed. I was just

like wo this like this is serious

business. So first of all let's go on

the first side like how did you break

into the market finally especially

>> um I think we sat down and realized like

this is no longer a like what was the

goal?

Do we just want to market to like the

African community or do we see ourselves

like on the level with like Coca-Cola

and Pepsi? If that's the goal, we cannot

remain with this branding like our old

branding. We can't remain the way we

are.

>> Um

>> and then last year we did a lot of

background work.

>> We have a lab that tests our products.

Okay.

>> Every month. So we like now we produce

once a month. So like every batch we

produce to send it off for them to test

and make sure like the

>> caloric information is still accurate.

Okay.

>> Um even though the recipe because

obviously we use fruits and dates and

depending on the season the fruits can

either be sweet or sour. So

>> obviously when you're increasing the

volume of fruits the calorie

>> increases and all that stuff. So finding

a balance and all that um stuff. So the

main thing for us was like where do we

see ourselves in the next five years?

Like we want Zobo for a lot of Nigerians

Zobo is what they put inside you know

nylon like we want it to be something

that

>> you'll see in Asda and you'll be like oh

this is our I want to try it.

>> And branding

>> cuz you know you feed your eyes with a

lot of things like when you see it

you're like oh this looks nice

>> let me try it. There are a lot of drinks

that I've tried just because the

packaging looks nice.

>> Even though sometimes some of them don't

taste nice. I mean, what you see is what

you buy. And that was the goal for us.

We're like, we don't just want to we

want to market it to

>> people outside of Africa. We want to

market it to the Asians, to the white,

to Yeah. Everywhere. Everyone needs to

try.

>> Actually, how did you pick your uh did

you pick the price? Because this is

£350.

>> Yeah. Um, how did you actually decide

the price?

>> Um, we went by our cost price.

>> Okay.

>> So, cost price, we do it down to

>> even electricity, water,

>> the fruits, everything. So, by the time

we calculated our cost and we do our

bottles.

>> Oh, yeah.

>> As you can see, it's all printed on.

It's not like stickers which would take

more manh hour. um the cost of doing

that alone is a lot. So, we just kind of

took that and also went into stores, did

market survey because this is classed as

a healthy drink,

>> like it won't be classed as one of those

fizzy drinks. Yeah.

>> So, like when you look at the price

point for like healthy drinks, they're

never cheap

>> knowing the kind of goodness that is in

it. So, that was what we went by and 350

was like the average

>> average price for it. And and what were

the kind of like what how were you able

to stick to the to to this specific

price? Because I'm sure you would have

gotten some push backs like it's too

much or it's too small. You get what I

mean? How like what kept your resolve in

that state of like we're we're just

going to stay here.

>> Yeah. We know the quality of fruits we

use and we use organic fruits. So

organic fruits are not cheap.

>> Wo. And we know if we were to reduce the

price, we'll be making a loss. However,

for people who are now retailers or like

wholesalers, obviously they buy at a

slightly cheaper price, but

>> the thing is they're still able to make

profit on it.

>> So like for everyone, £3 pound50 is a

price where everyone can make profit.

>> Yeah. And not feel like they're at a

loss. Especially for us, like you as a

manufacturer, it's so easy for you to

run into loss. a distributor wouldn't go

into loss but a manufacturer going into

loss and that was like the price point

that we know that okay we're making

enough profits but at the same time it's

affordable for people

>> um when we started a lot of people said

yeah it's too expensive this da da da um

>> but we knew what we were producing we

know the quality of what we're putting

out and obviously the amount of time

>> knowledge and like

>> you know studying that's gone into this

>> into this research. Yeah.

>> Yeah.

>> This episode is proudly sponsored by

Kufa Juice. Rooted in culture brewed in

honor

>> diary of successful immigrants.

>> Now I'm sure at least I know you guys

are in Manchester. You're supplying to

Manchester. You're all over Leeds. How

many cities actually are you supplying

to? I know you're also in Scotland

already. Yes, we're in

>> Glasgow. We're in Wales.

>> Wo.

>> Um,

pretty much Yorkshire.

>> Okay.

>> Um, at this point I can't count, but I

know we supply to over 40 stores and

restaurants.

>> Oh, across the across the across the UK.

Yeah.

>> Yeah. What about like have you started

testing out the big brands like the

Asda? Yeah, the the little

>> um not yet. We we're it's in the

pipeline, but the direction the business

is going. So, if we're to take this to

like as doctors go, they'll put it in

the world food aisle,

>> and we don't want that. We want it to be

in the drinks aisle.

>> Yeah. So, because it's a wellness drink

as well.

>> We're looking at places like and

Barrett, Max and Spencers, Waitro. Those

are like the kind of places we see our

brand being in.

>> Okay. We don't just want them to chuck

it in the world because that's where

they put a lot of African brands and

that's not the vision. So we're doing a

lot of work behind the scenes to make

sure that we're actually in the face in

the main aisles

>> since this is a healthy drink. Have you

thought about maybe taking it to gyms?

>> Yeah, we're actually working on that and

we're working on um influencers like

E.L.F. We actually have worked with ELF

influencer. Okay. um for this and we've

had like a few people you know coming

for it.

>> Um

>> yeah so we we're working there's a lot

of work being done in the background.

Yeah it's in the process. You know, one

of the reasons why I also kind of

brought you in here is actually um this

podcast is not just about like maybe

it's everything. It's ready. You get

it's the journey and your your story has

been quite fascinating from that school

girl that everybody was technically

bullying to like becoming like data

analyst. Um a lot of things and all

those things.

then to starting your own business. I

mean, starting your own brand. And I

know like um I I don't want to mention

the car you're driving, but [laughter] I

I know you're really doing well. Like

seriously, like you you you nobody would

drive your car if they're not doing

well. [laughter]

>> But how do you how do you intend to make

your 1 million or to make your millions?

Not

>> copper will be in the faces of every

single person. Like you would see the

brand and you just know. You'll see our

products.

>> Yeah.

>> And you know, and that's how I'm going

to make my millions.

>> No problem.

>> You people will buy Kofa. You'll use it

for your weddings, your birthdays, your

christings, every single event you have,

Kofa will be there.

>> All right. We're going to round off this

episode with some quick fire questions.

Yeah. Um and one of the things we do on

this episode, I'll just let you know, is

it

>> I actually don't share questions with

our guests. I just kind of make it very

conversational and you know nowadays

it's easier with AI to get the right

answers and stuff but I want people to

tell you the real experience not

something cooked up. So the first

question is was there someone who

believed in you before you believed in

yourself?

>> My parents.

>> Oh seriously?

>> Yeah.

>> Wow. They believed in you about business

before you?

>> Yes. My parents just believed that

everything business I lay my hands on is

just successful. I mean we they made

their money back within few months.

>> Okay.

>> So like my parents just knew.

>> So is it like when they invest in your

business you pay back?

>> Yeah.

>> Oh I love that.

>> I pay them back so that you know that

next time when they ask you for more

you'll be able to drop goods.

>> Oh I love that actually. It's not like

we've invest we've just given it to you

go and do your thing. It also gives

sense of respect accountability. Yeah.

Because then I know that okay their

money cannot go to waste.

>> Okay. That doesn't mean that I've done

businesses that were not successful, but

we don't talk about them. I've done a

few that were not successful, but

>> tell us just tell us one.

>> I mean, the human hair business was

>> a disaster

>> in the sense that I was spending the

money and using the hair for myself

[laughter]

and yeah like that wasn't profitable for

me or like for anyone we invested in it.

>> Also, my husband is someone who believes

so much in me. M

>> he just if I wake up today and tell him

that oh I want to build a gym he'll

probably be okay

>> he says I have the craziest ideas

>> oh okay and then he's up to it yeah let

me go to the next question what

strategies or habits kind of help you to

stay focused on maybe a business idea

what are the kind of strategies that you

use to stay focused every time you you

start a business or you starting a

business

>> to sound

But I just want to be a I refuse to

[laughter] be broke. Being poor makes

scares me. Like being poor scares me.

>> Wow. So So your motivation is just like

>> Yeah. I refuse to be poor.

>> Oh,

>> that's my motivation. you [laughter]

like you know that I kind of have this

mindset that

>> I don't want to be poor and I do lot of

things like lot of different stuff and

sometimes maybe the the Christian part

of me will be like hope this is not

conversiousness now hope this is not

>> I know [laughter]

>> it's not

>> just encourage me

>> at this point you have to encourage

yourself and say I refuse to be poor I

think that there's a um audio by Pastor

Yippo or something that says I refuse to

be poor. Yes, that's my motto. I refuse

to be poor.

>> I'll never be poor again. I think by

Pastor Chris.

>> Yeah. Something like that. Every time I

hear that audio, I say yes, this is for

[laughter] me. I think just the fear of

not having enough.

>> Yeah.

>> Scares me that I I just want to work. It

>> keeps you motivated.

>> Yeah. It keeps me motivated. And

obviously now that I have children, I

don't want them to suffer.

>> So that's like a big motivation.

>> Yeah. Picking on that, what what does

greatness means to you now? And how do

you measure it?

>> No, greatness to me is not like money.

>> It's like the people around me,

>> my family,

>> love,

>> and obviously God. That's like greatness

to me. I feel like you can have all

these things and feel complete. And

>> even when you have money, a lot of

people don't feel complete with money.

For me, take money out of it,

>> I'll still feel or yeah, I'll feel

complete. Money is additional family.

>> Wow. That's that's very very unique

perspective that I've never heard.

Greatness is family is love and

>> Yeah. Um I still have a couple of more

questions. Yeah. What legacy are you

building for the future?

>> Kofa juice.

>> Kofa juice. That's it. Literally my head

is just kofa juice. Like I said, it's

going to be everywhere.

>> In the old in the same continent, you

see Kofa juice.

>> Coca-Cola can do it. I can.

>> Mhm. Mhm.

>> There's nothing stopping me.

>> And and as you're saying it now, it just

came to my mind that somebody will watch

this in like 20 years now and just say,

"Yeah,

>> she actually said it.

>> She actually said it." Wow, that's good.

>> Yeah. Um the last question which I kind

of always use maybe most times as the

last is if your story were a headline

like we want to put it as a headline in

the sun or BBC news and stuff what will

it say like what would it be?

>> H

>> I have something in mind but [laughter]

I'll not confuse you. Um

[sighs]

>> what would I say? Um,

it can't be from Lagos. I didn't grow up

in [laughter] Los. I [snorts] don't

know. It can't be riches. It can't be

rags to riches cuz it was never rags.

>> It was never rags.

>> I'm not a nipple baby, but [laughter]

>> um I don't know. But it's going to be

something like

maybe our punchline which is like rooted

in culture brewed with honor.

>> Okay.

>> Premium my I don't know something from

what you're thinking. I was thinking

like you I said the journey to my

millions.

>> That's a good one. [laughter]

>> The BBC book keep your hearing. That's

it.

>> The journey to my millions. You get it.

And then

yeah, because I think that that has that

has kind of been a consistent

>> uh what was it called? Rhetoric across

your story. Yeah. Um the last thing

you're going to do for us once again,

thank you very much for sponsoring some

of our episodes. And um guys, this is

Kofa Juice. Um please get it at the

closest um what is it called? At the

closest um store to you. Uh if you also

want um you see on the scroll bar some

of the details you can be a supplier I'm

sorry you can be a distributor and um

you can also have it um even just in

your homes. Trust me I've tasted it. In

fact before this podcast I was it was

what I was using to get energy.

[laughter]

>> Yeah. And it's it's so lovely. Yeah.

Just to round off this podcast, can you

look into the camera and just tell that

young girl or somebody that it's on

their way to millions also like you?

Just just encourage and motivate

somebody like you. Maybe somebody wants

to be a millionaire. Currently, they

still don't have a,000 pounds in their

account. [laughter]

>> Um, I'll say be you, the original and

stay grounded. there will be a lot of

challenges but I mean the goal like my

goal is to be a millionaire that's why I

see I just see myself there

>> um and I can't be a millionaire if I'm

slacking or like I'm allowing things

that are going on currently to weigh me

down so be you

>> and be grounded

>> all right thank you very much for coming

today don't [clears throat] worry what

what I'm going to try to do is I don't

make promise I don't want to be I don't

want to be making too many many promises

on this podcast. But hopefully in the

future, we're still going to invite you

again.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah. And then maybe in 5 years down the

line and stuff, uh we're going to have

you again and then by then.

>> Ah, you must be the way you are saying

it. [laughter]

>> You won't be. All right. Thank you very

much, guys. This is Diary of Successful

Immigrants. Um see you on the next

episode. Bye. [music]

Hey, [music]

[music]

hey,