Agholor Mary Ozuruonye popularly known as “Ronye” is a lady with weird imaginations and big dreams. She is a Registered Nurse, a Public Health Nurse, and a Certified Public Speaker.
She is a health management consultant, teenage coach, On-Air Personality, show host, and event compere. She has a special interest in teaching, teenage mentorship, the girl child, entrepreneurship, brand promotion, radio presenting and preventive health advocacy.
I love to tell stories, hence I use my story to inspire others. At most of my speaking engagements, I simply tell stories to drive home my point. I will do the same tonight
Quick question to you,
What does ENTREPRENEURSHIP mean to you?
Answer: Ability to run one’s business effectively
Answer: In very simple terms, it means taking full responsibility and total risks to create and deliver value, in form of products and services, and receiving profit on the long run. It also means seeing a need, and putting in your resources to solve the need. Resources here to me, goes beyond money. It includes time, energy, enthusiasm, passion… And a whole lot of other things. Sometimes, it costs you your health.
Answer: It’s simply the ability to create and innovates to build something of recognized value around perceived opportunities.
Answer: Ability to identify a problem and create a profitable solution
I asked the question because, the personal meaning you give entrepreneurship determines how you practice it, and how you practice it determines how far you will go and grow in it.
The good thing is, we all don’t have to give it the same meaning, cos we don’t think the same way, we are wired differently. I hold on to my believe, you hold yours
Growing up in a family where I am the last child, by the time I gained admission to higher institution of learning, my dad retired from active civil service. Meaning, no more salary and it took almost forever before he got his retirement benefits.
He had to pay my school fees through his nose. I barely went home on weekends, cos no show. I managed the meager amount my dad could afford for upkeep which he expected to last me the whole month, meaning “don’t ask for money till month end”
Back then in my hostel, we all used kerosene stove to Cook and the hostel was quite a distance to the nearest market. I seriously needed to increase my finance for the month cos what I got from home was obviously not enough.
One day, my mind was to opened to burning need in my hostel, I noticed we trek so far to buy kerosene to cook. Then I bought a gallon of kerosene, measured in bottles, and informed everyone that I was selling kerosene. They were all happy cos it was a big relief. No one ever thought of it. That was how I became Mary the kerosene seller in my hostel, I sold kerosene till I graduated.
You smile to my room, you pick a bottle of kerosene, the money smiles into my pocket and everyone is happy.
From then, I identified my own meaning of entrepreneurship: MEETING NEEDS
Remember I wasn’t studying Business in school, I was a student nurse. However, something opens your eyes to your meaning of entrepreneurship. For me then I was broke, to some its their passion, to some they just want to make money, to some they just want to flow with the tide, everyone is doing it so I should it, to some they just want to do business.
Whatever it is you do today that makes you an entrepreneur, my question to you is: what is your drive?”
For me my first drive of meeting a need in my environment which paid off for me, is still my drive till date and it is still paying off for me.
Recently, I won the 2019 BAM Outstanding Health Entrepreneur Of the year Award. And It meant a lot to me because I have always seen possibilities where others see impossibilities.
When others say they can’t, I say I can. When others say they won’t, I say I will…
Some years back I added so much weight and it affected my health negatively, I really needed to reduce my weight so I could stay healthy. It was my biggest challenge at that period. Then I got a solution and it worked, I lost weight.
Then I saw opportunity in my weight loss, and I launched a weight management campaign, I sold packs and cartons of the weight loss product I used. Obesity was my problem but in my problem I saw an opportunity. I simply used my testimony to drive the market. You smile to me with your obesity, I give you the product, coach you on how to use it, and your money smile into my account, and everyone is happy*
When you see this written, how do you read it
OPPORTUNITYISNOWHERE
Opportunity is now here
You could also see: Opportunity is no where
Depends on your mindset, your perspective and how you choose to see it.
In your journey through entrepreneurship consider the following:
Your Passion
Your environment
Problem to be solved
The need you can meet
Solution you can provide
The people in your environment
Start seeing the positives in all negativity. Start seeing possibility in impossibility. Start seeing opportunity in problems/challenges.
No one says its going to be easy but you will start from somewhere, so don’t wait till you have huge capital before you become a problem solver.
No one says you will be the only one doing what you want to do, cos as you conceive an idea God is also dropping it in the minds of one million and one other people, who runs with it first owns it. You won’t be the first neither will you be the last doing that business or offering that service, but focus on BEING UNIQUE AND STAND OUT among multitude.
Everything I am and I do today revolve around these ideas I just shared
In conclusion,
Discover who you are, the knowledge of who you are will fuel your entrepreneurial strategy
Self-development is key, hence never say NO to an opportunity even though it is not your field
I am registered Nurse and I manage an online radio station, it started when I decided to use media as a tool to disseminating health information. Every other opportunity that came my way in this field I embraced.
Remember, to use the word NOT less… Be positive always
Thank you
Session moderated by:
Oluwatomisin Olowoyo, Principal, CSA Academy