Without AMBITION one starts nothing. Without WORK one finishes nothing. The prize will NOT be sent to you. You have to WIN it. The man who knows HOW will always have a job. The man who also knows WHY will always be his boss. As to METHODS there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps PRINCIPLES can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have TROUBLE."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
The individuals we profile on this platform are people who are eminetly qualified to serve as role models and mentors to our generation. People who have achieved wonderful feat by walking the path of hardwork, tenacity and integrity.
Today we serve you with one of the finests, a woman of God and brilliant entreprenuer. Ladies and gentle men, I present to you:
BLESSING IBUKUN AWOSIKA
As written by Spice Magazine.
The plate number of her Mercedes SLX is engraved with the words “my boss is a Jewish carpenter”. As I spy the words walking into the impressive building where the Sokoa Chair Centre is located, I am amazed at the verve, grit and the audacity of the woman we (my team and me) are going to meet. I have heard of her in the media and from several people but nothing prepared me for the hospitable, warm and vibrant personality of Pastor (Mrs.) Blessing Ibukun Awosika. It crossed my mind as we spoke with her that she is one of those dynamic people who enjoy changing the world and making a difference.
She was born in Ibadan and had her primary education in Ibadan but because her father’s nature of work ensured that he was transferred to several places regularly, she got transferred to various schools and ended up finishing her primary education in Lagos. She then proceeded to Methodist Girls High School, Yaba for her secondary school education, after which she gained admission to University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) to study chemistry.
She had an interesting number of aspirations at different phases of her life. In the secondary school, she wanted to be a doctor at the university. While studying chemistry, she developed interest in Law because she did not like chemistry as a course, then in architect then finally decided to work as an accountant. She finally got to work in an accounting firm during her service year. “I found the profession too regular for my restless nature” she says. She also said she is driven by the need to get things done the right way, with the right value.
About being an Award Winning Entrepreneur, she says: “What can I say? All I wanted to do was to make a difference both in the lives of people and in our economy by pursuing the entrepreneurial calling that God has placed upon my life. And in the course of doing that if the society recognizes one’s efforts and chooses to reward them through an award, then may the LORD be praised”.
‘Most people find it difficult to believe that we run businesses that net hundreds of million in turn-over without doing deals or ‘cutting corners’ as is the usual practice in our business culture today. I made a resolution at the early stage of my business not to give bribe or sleep with any man in order to get a business. This is because I realized that no matter how much I give as bribe; there will always be someone who can give much more. And no matter how many men I sleep with to get a contract, there will always be younger and prettier women ready to go to bed for the same reason. So why bother? Since then I had resolved to run my business in a way that will bring glory to God and help to propagate the gospel. This set the limit for my businesses’.
She goes on about her multi million naira business, ‘In January 2004, the Nigerian government introduced a change in policy which resulted in a ban on the importation of furniture, and this affected our business. We therefore embarked on a strategy that helped maximize the raw materials that we had in different segments of our product lines: For our office seating line, we approached SOKOA S.A, the largest office seating manufacturer in France, on whose list we were one of the top 10 dealers for almost 8 years. We proposed to them the idea of forming a joint venture to produce office seating locally in Nigeria. That is how SOKOA CHAIR CENTRE came on stream with an investment/ownership structure: The Chair Centre 37%, Guaranty Trust Bank 32%, SOKOA SA 21%, and two individual investors having 5% each.With an equity and debt ratio of 63:35 and an investment of about $200 million, the factory opened on May 10, 2005, after the core production teams were trained in France for 3 months and a facility on over 8,000 square meters was built. This factory, against all expectations, paid off its total operational expenses in the first 12 months and has been profitable since the 13th month.
She continued on to the genesis of her career based organization. “The AGDC was born out of my observation of the degradation in quality of graduates produced from our higher institutions of learning and since I recognized that the government could not handle the decay on their own, we decided to make our contribution towards changing this trend by setting up a career centre where graduates can be counseled, learn career planning, be trained and imparted with the necessary skills to improve their chances of being employed.Incidentally, Detoun, my partner and the anchor person at AGDC share the same idea”.
When I asked how come she became a furniture maker when she studied chemistry at the university and so she gave me a really fascinating answer “I had wanted to become an architect but I gained admission to read chemistry at the University of Ife, and there, I got fascinated with Law, I went to the Dean of Law and told him I wanted to change to Law who promised to take me only of I perform well in my departmental courses. This put me in a dilemma of a sort, because if I perform well in my department, they wouldn’t release me for another department, and if I don’t do well, Law will not take me in. Eventually, I lost all interest in law and wanted to become a chartered accountant. So I began to take most of my electives from the accountancy department with the hope of taking the ICAN exams after graduating. The year I spent in an accounting firm in Kano cured me of whatever aspiration I had to become an accountant as I found the profession too monotonous for my restless nature”.
For the capital to begin her business she says “I found myself in a furniture company while waiting for the banking job but I did not like the way my employers were doing their business, so after about three months there I resigned and went to set up my own furniture business. In the furniture business, the carpenters come with their tools, so I really did not have to spend so much money buying tools. Also, there were sawmills where we could do the finishing of our work. Besides, for every job we took we were paid some percentage as deposit, and with this we usually utilized to get the job done. While this may sound unusual, it does not negate the importance of capital in birthing an entrepreneurial dream. It is a major factor but more important than the capital is the business idea and the entrepreneur’s own will and determination to see it through”.
On her principle and values “I became a Christian shortly after I started my business and there and then I made a decision to run my business by godly standards and principles; no bribe, no cutting corners, no sleeping with any man to get a job etc. Now I run a number of successful business concerns, to the glory of God. I believe this is one way that He has rewarded my faithfulness to His works and my commitment to the ideals of running my businesses His way.I believe the greatest test of our faith and ideals came in January 2004 when the federal government banned the importation of furniture. This could have been the end for us in business. Conversely, we had a choice to either resort to smuggling or find a more acceptable way of remaining in business. We settled for the latter. We approached SOKOA S.A of France and together, with investment from GT Bank and two other Nigerians then set up SOKOA CHAIR CENTRE”.
She speaks on the standard of her furniture “All our products are certified by the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON). The essence of bringing SOKOA SA was so we could produce different models of office seating that will meet excellent taste and international standard, for the Nigerian and the West African market”.
“While I was at school I was someone who always wants to make a significant difference. Although, I did not see it in the color that it now came out, I have always known that I would be a change agent. My resolution has always been to die empty’ she says speaking on the traits she had while in school that contributed to becoming who she is today. “One of the things that God has blessed me with are aides whom I could trust to get things done with minimal or no supervision. That is what has helped me to be able to cope with the many commitments and responsibilities that I have here and there. Notwithstanding, I have also been able to prioritize my activities in such a way that I am able to attend to what needs done at any point in time without leaving the rest to suffer”.
She then spoke of how she maintains the balance between her business commitments, her spiritual commitments and her family she says this: “God has blessed me with people who understand the callings of God upon my life and give me their full support to go ahead and be all that I can be. Talking about striking a balance, after God, my family comes first. I ensure that I spend quality time with my family. I also ensure that my pastoral calling does not suffer as a result of my many business engagements. I am an ordained pastor at The Fountain of Life Church under the spiritual parenthood of Pastor Taiwo Odukoya and Pastor Bimbo of blessed memory. And this is one calling that I do not take lightly, as I know full well that the LORD will require an account of my stewardship from me”.
Early in my business days, I started to read some Christian-based business books to equip me on the principles of doing business the Christian way. Some of such books had significant impression on me and helped me to chart my course in business is Business By the Book by Larry Burkket, and God Owns My Business by Tam Stanley. I was born in Oyo, Ibadan to a middle-class family. My parents instilled in us the ethics of hard work, diligence, persistence and team spirit.
About her success being luck and if it was possible for anyone to start from the scratch she says “I won’t say that I am lucky; I am just blessed by God in many ways. The truth is God has promised to bless the works of our hands, but if our hands are idle and doing nothing; there will be nothing for God to bless! I say I am blessed by God because He has helped me to pass through situations that have shaped my life. He also brought people into my life whom have helped me, in their own different ways, to become who I am today, most notable amongst them is my husband, who has given me the freedom to be myself and pursue my dreams without any form of inhibition”.
She is married to Abiodun Oludola Awosika and their marriage is blessed with three children, all boys. “I like reading, and I like spending time with my family. I also derive great joy in helping people to achieve their dreams”.Asked about the next five years she says “Only God can tell exactly. But I see me becoming a better person in all counts and more accomplished in my set dreams to make a difference in the society”.
She was born in Ibadan and had her primary education in Ibadan but because her father’s nature of work ensured that he was transferred to several places regularly, she got transferred to various schools and ended up finishing her primary education in Lagos. She then proceeded to Methodist Girls High School, Yaba for her secondary school education, after which she gained admission to University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) to study chemistry.
She had an interesting number of aspirations at different phases of her life. In the secondary school, she wanted to be a doctor at the university. While studying chemistry, she developed interest in Law because she did not like chemistry as a course, then in architect then finally decided to work as an accountant. She finally got to work in an accounting firm during her service year. “I found the profession too regular for my restless nature” she says. She also said she is driven by the need to get things done the right way, with the right value.
About being an Award Winning Entrepreneur, she says: “What can I say? All I wanted to do was to make a difference both in the lives of people and in our economy by pursuing the entrepreneurial calling that God has placed upon my life. And in the course of doing that if the society recognizes one’s efforts and chooses to reward them through an award, then may the LORD be praised”.
‘Most people find it difficult to believe that we run businesses that net hundreds of million in turn-over without doing deals or ‘cutting corners’ as is the usual practice in our business culture today. I made a resolution at the early stage of my business not to give bribe or sleep with any man in order to get a business. This is because I realized that no matter how much I give as bribe; there will always be someone who can give much more. And no matter how many men I sleep with to get a contract, there will always be younger and prettier women ready to go to bed for the same reason. So why bother? Since then I had resolved to run my business in a way that will bring glory to God and help to propagate the gospel. This set the limit for my businesses’.
She goes on about her multi million naira business, ‘In January 2004, the Nigerian government introduced a change in policy which resulted in a ban on the importation of furniture, and this affected our business. We therefore embarked on a strategy that helped maximize the raw materials that we had in different segments of our product lines: For our office seating line, we approached SOKOA S.A, the largest office seating manufacturer in France, on whose list we were one of the top 10 dealers for almost 8 years. We proposed to them the idea of forming a joint venture to produce office seating locally in Nigeria. That is how SOKOA CHAIR CENTRE came on stream with an investment/ownership structure: The Chair Centre 37%, Guaranty Trust Bank 32%, SOKOA SA 21%, and two individual investors having 5% each.With an equity and debt ratio of 63:35 and an investment of about $200 million, the factory opened on May 10, 2005, after the core production teams were trained in France for 3 months and a facility on over 8,000 square meters was built. This factory, against all expectations, paid off its total operational expenses in the first 12 months and has been profitable since the 13th month.
She continued on to the genesis of her career based organization. “The AGDC was born out of my observation of the degradation in quality of graduates produced from our higher institutions of learning and since I recognized that the government could not handle the decay on their own, we decided to make our contribution towards changing this trend by setting up a career centre where graduates can be counseled, learn career planning, be trained and imparted with the necessary skills to improve their chances of being employed.Incidentally, Detoun, my partner and the anchor person at AGDC share the same idea”.
When I asked how come she became a furniture maker when she studied chemistry at the university and so she gave me a really fascinating answer “I had wanted to become an architect but I gained admission to read chemistry at the University of Ife, and there, I got fascinated with Law, I went to the Dean of Law and told him I wanted to change to Law who promised to take me only of I perform well in my departmental courses. This put me in a dilemma of a sort, because if I perform well in my department, they wouldn’t release me for another department, and if I don’t do well, Law will not take me in. Eventually, I lost all interest in law and wanted to become a chartered accountant. So I began to take most of my electives from the accountancy department with the hope of taking the ICAN exams after graduating. The year I spent in an accounting firm in Kano cured me of whatever aspiration I had to become an accountant as I found the profession too monotonous for my restless nature”.
For the capital to begin her business she says “I found myself in a furniture company while waiting for the banking job but I did not like the way my employers were doing their business, so after about three months there I resigned and went to set up my own furniture business. In the furniture business, the carpenters come with their tools, so I really did not have to spend so much money buying tools. Also, there were sawmills where we could do the finishing of our work. Besides, for every job we took we were paid some percentage as deposit, and with this we usually utilized to get the job done. While this may sound unusual, it does not negate the importance of capital in birthing an entrepreneurial dream. It is a major factor but more important than the capital is the business idea and the entrepreneur’s own will and determination to see it through”.
On her principle and values “I became a Christian shortly after I started my business and there and then I made a decision to run my business by godly standards and principles; no bribe, no cutting corners, no sleeping with any man to get a job etc. Now I run a number of successful business concerns, to the glory of God. I believe this is one way that He has rewarded my faithfulness to His works and my commitment to the ideals of running my businesses His way.I believe the greatest test of our faith and ideals came in January 2004 when the federal government banned the importation of furniture. This could have been the end for us in business. Conversely, we had a choice to either resort to smuggling or find a more acceptable way of remaining in business. We settled for the latter. We approached SOKOA S.A of France and together, with investment from GT Bank and two other Nigerians then set up SOKOA CHAIR CENTRE”.
She speaks on the standard of her furniture “All our products are certified by the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON). The essence of bringing SOKOA SA was so we could produce different models of office seating that will meet excellent taste and international standard, for the Nigerian and the West African market”.
“While I was at school I was someone who always wants to make a significant difference. Although, I did not see it in the color that it now came out, I have always known that I would be a change agent. My resolution has always been to die empty’ she says speaking on the traits she had while in school that contributed to becoming who she is today. “One of the things that God has blessed me with are aides whom I could trust to get things done with minimal or no supervision. That is what has helped me to be able to cope with the many commitments and responsibilities that I have here and there. Notwithstanding, I have also been able to prioritize my activities in such a way that I am able to attend to what needs done at any point in time without leaving the rest to suffer”.
She then spoke of how she maintains the balance between her business commitments, her spiritual commitments and her family she says this: “God has blessed me with people who understand the callings of God upon my life and give me their full support to go ahead and be all that I can be. Talking about striking a balance, after God, my family comes first. I ensure that I spend quality time with my family. I also ensure that my pastoral calling does not suffer as a result of my many business engagements. I am an ordained pastor at The Fountain of Life Church under the spiritual parenthood of Pastor Taiwo Odukoya and Pastor Bimbo of blessed memory. And this is one calling that I do not take lightly, as I know full well that the LORD will require an account of my stewardship from me”.
Early in my business days, I started to read some Christian-based business books to equip me on the principles of doing business the Christian way. Some of such books had significant impression on me and helped me to chart my course in business is Business By the Book by Larry Burkket, and God Owns My Business by Tam Stanley. I was born in Oyo, Ibadan to a middle-class family. My parents instilled in us the ethics of hard work, diligence, persistence and team spirit.
About her success being luck and if it was possible for anyone to start from the scratch she says “I won’t say that I am lucky; I am just blessed by God in many ways. The truth is God has promised to bless the works of our hands, but if our hands are idle and doing nothing; there will be nothing for God to bless! I say I am blessed by God because He has helped me to pass through situations that have shaped my life. He also brought people into my life whom have helped me, in their own different ways, to become who I am today, most notable amongst them is my husband, who has given me the freedom to be myself and pursue my dreams without any form of inhibition”.
She is married to Abiodun Oludola Awosika and their marriage is blessed with three children, all boys. “I like reading, and I like spending time with my family. I also derive great joy in helping people to achieve their dreams”.Asked about the next five years she says “Only God can tell exactly. But I see me becoming a better person in all counts and more accomplished in my set dreams to make a difference in the society”.
Dreams come through! What are you dreams today, plunge into the ocean of the unknow, pursue your dreams and you will be suprised at what you achieve.
Now that you KNOW.
ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE
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