Earlier today, Linda posted this throwback photo of hers with the caption “Inside my office about 10 years ago. Struggling 25 year old entrepreneur. I never stopped believing. Never stopped working. Never thought about giving up. It was tough but I knew I’d get there one day if I kept going. So I never stopped. You will achieve… When you believe! #TrustGod. Hegatyou!“
She now has a bigger space now! She recently acquired a new building said to have been
partitioned into 22-room offices, housing studio, editing suite, two
lounges, VIP waiting room, radio booth, section for her yet- to- be unveiled Linda Ikeji Music, LIS administrative office, bloggers office and her own office.
some of you are busy hating on her mansion, money and style of blogging,
she’s making enormous power moves and giving media top dogs a run for
the roses.
Linda may not be your favourite person, her blog may be a rolling
bundle of crap, and her style may be the most irreverent on Naija’s web
space but if you are a budding enterpreneur in this country, you might
want to stop for a minute and take notes from Linda on how to build that
empire of your dreams.
Here are 7 things you can take from Linda:
1. Do not give up on your dreams: If you follow
Linda Ikeji on social media, you’ll know she has followed her dreams
through till where she is right now. She’s fond of using the hashtag
#dreamsdocometrue on her success captions. Many times, Linda Ikeji has
reiterated that she had not always been rich, her story is the grass to
grace type but through the struggles, she held on tight to her big
dreams. Look how that has worked for her now. If you are an enterpreneur
and you still don’t see that bright future for your business, you need
to go to sleep and dream.
2. Be consistent: As cliche as this sounds,
consistency is obviously something Linda Ikeji practices. For someone
who started an internet blog at a time when Nigerians had not yet been
admitted into the blogosphere, she must have had every reason on earth
to quit. Starting out is usually pretty difficult, staying on against
all the odds is even harder and this is how Linda Ikeji is at the top
now. Before you beef her Banana Island mansion, remember that she flew
on the wings of her never-say-die attitude to that mansion.
3. Shut out the noise: If you’re serious about
taking lessons from Linda Ikeji, you must know how to shut out
naysayers. Linda Ikeji is so thickskinned that it’s become sort of her
trademark. But hey, it’s why she’s still here. Abuse her from now till
tomorrow, call her out for posting false news, threaten her with area
boys, call her clothes and bags fake, Linda stays on top. You have to
accept early enough that not everyone will love you and what you do.
They will hate on you publicly but you will stand in your bedroom’s
walk-in closet and take photos so they can see your ceiling to floor
designer bag collection. Linda has no chill!
4. Focus: Linda Ikeji may not be the most vocal
person in the Nigerian media industry but her brand sure speaks for her.
Over time, she has floated the Self-made Campaign empowering young
ladies to be independent in business and life. Some will say she is
discouraging our daughters from marriage and submission, others say
she’s teaching them prostitution. You people have serious problem sha.
Your daughters, Linda’s proteges are not complaining. They look up to
her, daily tap into the anointing on her head and she pays attention to
them as well. The lesson here is to know your audience and focus on
them. Your market is not for everybody.
5. Move only when you’re ready: It’s hard to forget
how an online contributor gave her a wordy tutorial on how she needs to
diversify and step out of her shell, Linda did not acknowledge the
advice, pretended not to notice and made no moves until she was ready.
Her moves are now in Incredible Hulk style, the type that will cause a
mini-quake in Nigeria’s media industry. Linda is mostly silent until she
has a big step to take then she goes all out. As an upcoming
enterpreneur, you will need to adopt this style. Take your world by
storm when you feel you’re prepared for it, not when the world puts
pressure on you to do so.
6. Be true to your voice: Most people especially in
the upper class, elite group are very critical of Linda Ikeji’s style of
writing. She has received a lot of backlash for being posting every
information that comes her way unfiltered, for ruining lives,
reputations and families with some of her stories, for the condescending
tone in her apologies even after damage is done but so far, she has
stuck to all of these things. Her thought process must sound like: “all
of you can wound yourselves if you want, i remain Linda and no one will
stop me”. Sounds a lot like something Donald Trump would say. We don’t
like him but he’s on top too, no doubt.
7. Save: Do not spend all your money on dressing up
until you have enough to spare. Linda’s wardrobe is fascinating, no
doubt. She can buy bags worth millions but trust that she has a lot of
cash stashed in the bank and only spends a small fraction of her
earnings on fashion. Do not take the wrong lessons from her expensive
taste, she can actually afford them and not cry afterwards. Make sure
you have a spending limit. Linda sure does and we see where all the
savings go.
Source: YNaija