Blogger Laila Ijeoma has revealed why she dumped her banking job for blogging. The wife and mother revealed that she abandoned her 8 to 5 job in the bank for her passion (Blogging) because it is more lucrative!
In the Nigerian blogosphere, Laila Ijeoma commands a lot of respect, not just because she owns Lailasblog; an entertainment website that reports trending Nigerian news read by millions monthly.
On
June 30, 2016, Laila took a bold step of abandoning her over N5million
per annum bank job to become a full time entertainment blogger; risking
everything to take a gamble on her passion.
She traded her
lucrative job to pursue what was still at that time, just a hobby she
was passionate about, but today, the decision has become one of her best
turning points.
In a chat with Vanguard Saturday Woman, she says
she has no regrets a year after taking this huge leap of faith as she
now has all the time to focus on her family and continue to grow her
blog even bigger.
Why did you dump your bank job for fulltime blogging?
I
started blogging as a joke in 2012; I wasn’t looking for money because I
was already gainfully employed at that time. All I wanted was an outlet
to share my life with Nigerians, inspire them with my stories. So I
started a Facebook group called, ‘True love for my man’- that should be
around 2010. That was the first social media account I used to gather
people together and we chatted about love and heartbreak.
My big
dream had always been to have a top Nigerian talk show, so I later
started a show on radio. I eventually had to put it on hold because it
was so demanding. Being married, a mum to 3 boys, working at the bank,
there was a lot to do in just 24 hours every day and the whole schedule
nearly ‘killed’ me, so I had to drop the radio show.
Along the
line, I discovered blogging through a colleague at the bank where I
worked; he owned a blog, after he introduced me to it that fateful day, I
got hooked. I realized I could reach out to people through it with much
less stress compared to a radio show. I told him I would love to have
mine and he helped me set it up. I didn’t even take it serious then.
But
as I kept on sharing stories, and I read comments from my audience, I
knew this was what I was born to do. I have always been a science
student in school, I knew nothing about blogging, and I had zero
celebrity friends, zero celebrity sources for my stories but I didn’t
let that stop me.
How difficult was it juggling being a banker, blogger, wife and mother of three boys?
It
was a crazy, hectic schedule! On a daily basis, I wake up 4am; go to
bed sometimes 12 midnight. And the next day, I still have to go to work.
No excuses. I was able to run my life like that for four years because I
was purely fuelled by passion. I just love blogging, there’s this
irreplaceable, beautiful joy it brings me. As with every new venture,
the beginning is usually slow.
How long did it take for your traffic to skyrocket?
It took about 6 months after I made the first post on my blog for my traffic to start skyrocketing.
Did the traffic immediately translate to money for you?
No
it didn’t. My traffic didn’t translate to so much money till 2014. That
was the year this particular company contacted me and ran an advert
with me that lasted for a full year and changed my life.
Would you say blogging is lucrative in Nigeria?
As
long as you are a passionate blogger, as long as you are in blogging
because you enjoy what you are doing, as long as your blog, its concept,
its contents are original, not a rip off of another blogger’s website;
blogging is the best thing that can ever happen to you.
The
rewards will blow your mind! It’s already an open secret that blogging
can make you a billionaire. You get lots of free stuff from brands too.
People just call you up. They want to advertise on your website and they
are handing out their products and services to you for free so you can
review them and share with your readers.
Then you have the best
reward; you are recognised as a voice that can start a change. You are
respected. People want to read what you have to say about a situation.
Readers are so addicted to your blog that they wake up in the morning
and can’t wait to read what is on Laila’s Blog today. As a blogger, you
can comfortably work from home in your pyjamas.
So you prefer blogging to banking?
I
did banking for 10 years in one of the best banks in Nigeria and I
enjoyed it. But I wasn’t self-fulfilled, I wanted more. Again, I was
already blogging for over 3 years alongside my day job. Truth is as time
went on, it became harder running my blog, bank job, family and taking
care of myself efficiently.
I wanted to wake up in the morning to
the joy of knowing that all I had to do for that day was write about the
trending stories in Nigeria and not miss any story just because it
happened while I was offline. I also wanted to spend more time with my
very supportive husband and children every day.
How would you compare your income now to when you were a banker?
It
has been tremendously rewarding, spiritually, family-wise, and
financially. You know with a steady day job, you don’t have to worry
about getting your paycheck at the end of the month. There are days I
worry- what if I don’t make money this month? That was why before I quit
my bank job, I made sure I saved up my salary and had at least 6
months’ salary set aside. I actually had a full year salary saved up
before I made the leap and resigned.
If you don’t plan properly,
things can actually go wrong and your dreams won’t come out the way you
planned them; you will fail and life will become miserable. I’m so glad I
conquered my fears of what if something goes wrong and took the leap.
My
friends, family, parents thought I was crazy when I first mentioned it.
But after they saw I wasn’t going to quit blogging and that I had
prepared for the worst; they rallied round and supported my decision to
leave banking. Having them behind me made me stronger and I left.
Any regrets so far?
None
whatsoever; my income tripled. My kids wake up in the morning they see
mummy. Mummy takes them to school, mum brings them back, mum tucks them
into bed every night, mummy helps them with their school assignments,
things I couldn’t do before.
I love what I do now and it gives me so much joy. I just miss my former colleagues once in a while.
What are the challenges you face as a blogger, especially those peculiar to the Nigerian blogosphere?
My
biggest challenge is internet network; there are times I wake up to
blog and I discover my internet isn’t as fast as I need it to be.
Sometimes, it’s entirely down so I can’t even blog.
Second
challenge is power; a laptop is to a blogger what the Bible is to a
Pastor. Laptops can only work if they are charged. Because I am online
at least 18 hours daily, I spend a lot on fuel for generators.
What stands you out from other bloggers?
You
can be very sure that out of the over 50 stories you read on Laila’s
blog in a day, at least 50% are our original stories. Again, we deliver
stories as they are happening. You will read breaking news, trending
stories first on Laila’s blog before they appear on other websites.
In your estimation, what’s the future of blogging in Nigeria in the next five years?
With
a computer today, anybody can build a global business from his/her
bedroom, with a bit of creativity and sheer determination. Every day, we
have over a hundred new bloggers coming online. Vlogging is now a huge
thing!
Five years from now, I see more younger people doing big
things, conquering boundaries, becoming millionaires through blogging in
Nigeria.
I also see blogging in Nigeria becoming more
professional. I am a registered member of this CAC registered bloggers’
association called The Guild of Professional Bloggers of Nigeria.
Aside blogging, any future plans?
I
have this huge passion for taking care of orphans and vulnerable
children, kids under the age of 18 years who are at high risk of lacking
adequate care and protection. Right now I have 10 under my care,
children my husband and I take care of. We have plans of taking that
number up a notch.
Any tips for upcoming bloggers who look up to you?
One
Mr. Mohammed Mustafa Ahmedzai once said ‘The easiest job on earth is
starting a blog but the toughest job is maintaining it.” And this is
simply because patience matters in blogging, and most upcoming bloggers
don’t have that!
Experienced bloggers will tell you that you
should only start to think about making money from your blog at least
after 6 months of blogging. But every day, I get emails from new
bloggers with 1-2 month old blogs asking you how to apply for Adsense.
These
new bloggers apply for AdSense and most times, they are rejected and
you see them quit blogging. From the day anybody starts blogging till
the day he/she ends her blogging career, there are lots of problems
you’ll face. Solving these problems and moving ahead is not easy as it
sounds! And that’s another reason upcoming bloggers quit blogging
easily.
So my first tip for them will be to have patience. Without
it, their eyes shall not see the billions blogging can drop in their
bank accounts. If your main reason for blogging is money and you have no
patience for earning it, then you’re not going to earn from blogging at
all!
What’s your biggest wish in life?
I
wish to make the world a better place by saving abused and vulnerable
children and making sure their oppressors get severely punished for
their wickedness.
Read her interview with Vanguard below…