Today’s episode is about business goals of growth and sustainability. Arguably growth has to come first in order to establish a long term presence that can have a significant impact on sustainability yet companies like TALA and Patagonia have achieved massive success putting sustainability as a priority from day one.

There’s also a paradigm related to how companies market themselves, and the consequent scrutiny and microscope they’re put under to do everything right. For example, companies, especially B2Cs, who market themselves as ‘green’ attract stakeholders who hold them to that standard whilst companies avoiding labelling themselves ‘green’ avoid the scrutiny of their potentially worse environment impact.

Gymshark is a company that chases growth and in 9 years this has worked for them, allowing them to now prioritise sustainability; however, it’s interesting some of their goals (recyclable packaging by 2021) are reached by startups from the beginning so this raises a question about the barriers to entry for startups who are held to high standards in order to stand out, whilst big companies succeed despite not being held to those standards.

Interestingly, the impact consumers make depends - voting with your money is powerful and signals demand to companies but then the impact of companies manufacturing + transporting goods can limit how big of an impact buying a ‘plastic free + recyclable’ good is when the backend is the opposite of recycle + plastic free…

(Music by Wataboi: U Said It - https://soundcloud.com/wataboi/u-said-it-soundcloud)

This week I interviewed Folayemi Ojo, a project manager, entrepreneur, author and massive foodie! 

Her story begins with her grandma using cooking as a punishment but she grew to love it and years later, cooking is a core aspect of who she is. Starting her Afro-Caribbean catering, and educational, company, YeMides' Kitchen, at university, Folayemi has always been a pro at project managing, now doing it during the 9-5 she does alongside her company and writing. 

Her children's cookbook, 'Ola's Kitchen Diaries', introduces Afro-Caribbean breakfast recipes to encourage building bonds between family in the kitchen, encouraging children to love cooking and to connect to their culture. Having never found an accessible or representative cookbook in her youth, she was determined to leave a legacy for her younger self and generations to come. Her book comes out on Amazon on the 31st March 2021. 

Have a listen to hear about the how the pandemic has impacted her business and brought her closer to her big dreams, how she's managed multiple passions and her 'why' with it all! 

Make sure you check out her instagrams and website: 

https://www.instagram.com/iamfolayemiojo/

https://www.instagram.com/Yemideskitchen/

http://yemideskitchen.com/

(Music by Wataboi: U Said It - https://soundcloud.com/wataboi/u-said-it-soundcloud)

Self development is a big theme in this podcast so today I go into what it means and why it’s important. Self development is diving into who you are, what you like, dislike, value, and ways of improving yourself. Part of this is consciously considering what would be best for your future self and moving away from seeking instant gratification and towards doing the difficult stuff in order to set yourself up for success, growth and improvement in future.

Business leaders increasingly illustrate the need to have done the 'inner work' to develop the traits for success (resilience, growth mindset and leadership skills). The work to make yourself the best you can be will pay off professionally and make you able to make the tough decisions, bounce back and move forward. Take Gymshark's founder, Ben Francis, who made the tough call to step down as CEO to hire someone whose skillset could get Gymshark to where it wants to go. He did what was best for the business through knowing himself and his strengths.

Also, the 4 Hour Work Week inspired a concept called ‘lifestyle design’ where entrepreneurs began seeking a way of running businesses that allowed them the lifestyle, money & time to enjoy their lives whether this involved working remotely in a tropical location or setting your business hours to give you maximum flexibility.

This ‘lifestyle design’ can be achieved through a practice of self development to define what you value, your strengths and weaknesses, and helping you get clear on, and move towards, what you’d like your ideal self and ideal life to look like. The purpose of life is what you make of it and the best investment you’ll ever make is in yourself!

Also take advantage of astrology queens telling you now is a good time for manifestations by doing the 111 Dreams activity where you list your dreams and desires from life - from getting certain grades to moving abroad to earning X amount.

@TheMakingItPodcast on Instagram! 

(Music by Wataboi: U Said It - https://soundcloud.com/wataboi/u-said-it-soundcloud)

This episode is dedicated to International Women's Day and celebrating the role models I look up to and feel inspired by. From podcasters, to entrepreneurs, to family I hope you gain some value and feel intrigued to check out the women I'm highlighting and showing my appreciation for. If there are any wonderful women you think I could learn from or should know about, dm me @TheMakingItPodcast on instagram so I can check them out and share! 

(Music by Wataboi: U Said It - https://soundcloud.com/wataboi/u-said-it-soundcloud)

This episode jumps into some business topics - particularly the importance of creating value as a business and how it ties into a concept by Mimi and Alex Ikonn. These entrepreneurs credit QVCA (Quality, Value, Consistency and Authenticity) as the pillars of success in their businesses and in this episode, we look at what value means, the forms it can take (psychological, social, monetary value, etc) and why it is so important. Consistency and authenticity are particularly key to master as they allow for consumers to discover your content, good or service and decide to invest their time or money. Tackling consistency and authenticity allows for quality to improve over time and in business, value is core to attracting customers to your business over a competitors so providing value alongside the Q, C and A can positively impact your longevity as a successful business! 

(Music by Wataboi: U Said It - https://soundcloud.com/wataboi/u-said-it-soundcloud)

Breaking out of old habits is hard to do but taking stock of the behaviours that serve you versus the ones that inhibit you, drain you and ultimately need to go is the first step. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results so avoid the temptation to make decisions that are familiar, but no longer serve you. However, using Mel Robbins' 5 Second technique alongside weekly reviews can really help build up a sustainable path of eliminating behaviours and habits that are holding you back. 

(Music by Wataboi: U Said It - https://soundcloud.com/wataboi/u-said-it-soundcloud)

This week’s episode dives into the intersection between self awareness, the sunk cost fallacy, defining what success means to you and choosing yourself.

It’s not self awareness if it’s one sided and you only think about your weaknesses so consider your strengths as well, and consider how these can play into what your version of success looks like to you. As you grow and your identity changes, it’s okay to realise what you once wanted no longer fits and as scary, but brave (!!), as it is to change your career, degree, life path, it’d be better to avoid the sunk cost fallacy and realise you only have limited time to make life what you want of it.

People reach the heights of success and self actualisation at all ages and it can be tricky balancing the wants of others with your own desires, but with some self awareness and outlining what you believe would really make you happy and ‘successful’ in life, make sure you choose YOU, always.

(Music by Wataboi: U Said It - https://soundcloud.com/wataboi/u-said-it-soundcloud)

This episode is all about being hard on yourself and taking note of the language you use when speaking to yourself. "If being hard on yourself worked, it would've worked by now" really hit me hard today when I realised tough love hasn't gotten me any further than being kind and compassionate with myself... so why not switch to praising and encouraging yourself at any opportunity? Why not create a safe, playful inner world in which you can acknowledge your positives and avoid critiquing yourself an unfair amount? If being positive seems too unattainable right now, how about you make an effort to move from the negative towards a more neutral point. E.g. body positivity can be a hard goal to reach consistently but maybe you can aim to feel neutrally about your body on the way to reaching positivity. Tune in now! And share this episode with a friend you think it could help:) 

(Music by Wataboi: U Said It - https://soundcloud.com/wataboi/u-said-it-soundcloud)

The fear of failure holds us back from even starting and means we avoid trying new things and stepping outside our comfort zones for fear of looking foolish and being unsuccessful. But in reality, failure isn't this absolute 'bad' thing and can teach us a lot about ourselves and so there's always a win to be gained. With the knowledge that you have a long way to go until you're an expert or even just quite good at something, there can be a fear of the unknown path and it not working out but affirmations, examining your subconscious beliefs and positive reinforcement can help break you out of this fear and grow your confidence with taking risks and going for the life you want. 

So don’t fear failure, but fear regret because giving up births regret and that’ll always leave you feel more foolish than just trying.

(Music by Wataboi: U Said It - https://soundcloud.com/wataboi/u-said-it-soundcloud)

Personal brands are on the rise as social media and influencer culture have created new jobs and opportunities for people to commodify their interests and personalities. A personal brand is the reputation and perception you shape of yourself based on your values, interests and content you like to talk about and create. Whilst everyone has a 'personal brand' and reputation,  online content creators, from youtubers to influencers to tik tok stars, really show the array of opportunities to be gained by cultivating an online personal brand - and AUTHENTICITY has never been more key to your success! Listen to hear about who has leveraged personal branding 'right', from Maya Jama, Molly Mae and Grace Beverley, and who has done it wrong. If you enjoy this episode, share it with a friend and follow @TheMakingItPodcast on instagram to keep up to date with the podcast! 

(Music by Wataboi: U Said It - https://soundcloud.com/wataboi/u-said-it-soundcloud)