Forbes a lister and EbonyLife TV CEO Mo Abudu shares tips to inspire

6th Jan 2015 And its yet another accolade for CEO of EbonyLife TV Mo Abudu, with her recognition as one of Forbes Africa’s 50 most succesful women. In an interview with Mfonobong Nsehe, Ms Abudu shared some thoughts certain to inspire anyone. On being asked what lessons she had learned in business, she is quoted as saying

I have learned that information is power. The media business in Nigeria and indeed, Africa is grossly underestimated and the windows of opportunity need to be further explored. A lot of people do not understand the power of information. One needs to be armed with information in order to successfully navigate any venture. Information is your compass. If you know better, you will do better. Before deciding to enter into any venture, one must, to the best of their ability have explored possibilities for growth, foreseen challenges, made projections, thought exhaustively through every inch and breadth of the venture and researched what other people have done to succeed and where they failed.

And for advice to aspiring entrepreneurs, she said

Anyone who wishes to be an entrepreneur must know that bright ideas are great, however, they are not even half of the work; execution is everything. Yes, as the saying goes, ‘there is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come’, but when that time comes, you must be prepared to bleed sweat, tears and blood to bring your ideas to life. For women, never ever see your gender as a handicap. Never think yourself inferior. Be ready to do twice the work for half the usual reward. When the door isn’t opened, kick down the door. Take the regular harassment and other obstacles women face in stride. In fact, be prepared for them. Be prepared to be told off, to be told you are not good enough, to go unrewarded for even doing the same work your male counterpart has done. Work with your passion, let it consume and drive you. Do not be distracted. On down days, it will keep you going. Also, surround yourself with like minds. In fact, you should exhaustively curate those who will go along with you on your journey. I can’t say that enough.