Lead To Excel Podcast

Defying the Odds: A Journey from Survival to Success - E106

• Maureen Chiana & Beatrice Yakubu • Episode 106

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Can childhood lessons shape your path to financial empowerment? In this episode, Beatrice Yakubu, Digital Marketer and Founder at Simply Family Business shares her inspiring journey from rural Ghana to the UK.
Learn how resilience, education, and family support fuelled her success and how she now guides the next generation toward financial independence.

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Connect with Beatrice Yakubu:
Websites and social links:
Book: http://tiny.cc/WinTheMoneyGame
Website: https://linktr.ee/simplyfamilybusiness
Email: info@beatriceyakubu.com

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Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome to Lead to Excel podcast, where every story sparks inspiration and every conversation brings you closer to your best self. I'm Maureen Chiana and I'm here to explore the extraordinary fusion of leadership, emotional intelligence and the groundbreaking insights of neuroscience and the groundbreaking insights of neuroscience. Together, we'll uncover secrets to unlocking your potential, enhancing your decision-making and elevating your performance to new heights. Whether you're leading a team, building a dream or simply on a quest for personal growth, you're in the right place, so let's dive in and transform the way we think, lead and live. Welcome aboard. Welcome again to another episode of Lead to Excel podcast.

Speaker 1:

Today I have a really special guest, and I mean really special guest. I have known this lady for so many years. We met when we were both learning to do public speaking with Andy Harrington, and then it's been such a wonderful journey just you know, kind of watching both of us grow and evolve and so much more. But what sets this lady apart is something she's done with her children, and we're going to get into it a bit later, but recently, I think a follow up from the way she's really groomed her children in business she's launched a book and for those on audio, I'm actually showing a copy of the book, and we're going to be talking a lot about this. So, beatrice, I am just so amazed. The name of the book is Win the Money Game with your Child. Wow, we're going to be talking about this a bit later, but congratulations again and welcome to Lead to Excel podcast.

Speaker 2:

Wow, thank you so much. Maureen, thank you so much for the introduction. I am so, so excited to be here, and I'm just happy to see us all grow and indeed see us collaborate in this significant way. I can't wait for us to dive in.

Speaker 1:

Thank you so much. So, beatrice Yakubu, welcome again. I don't think I mentioned your name at the beginning, so it is. Beatrice Yakubi is with me today. So, beatrice, let's find out who Beatrice is. Tell us a bit about you. What do you do? Who is Beatrice?

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much for that question, so I just want to say thank you once again for inviting me to this podcast lead to excel. I have been listening to the podcast for some time now. I have never told you that, but I do, but, uh, yeah, to be a part of it is is incredible. Now, um, who is beatrice yakubu? I am a mother, a wife and a believer in Christ. I'm an entrepreneur and recently a new author, so that's, in a nutshell, who I am, but I think one of the things that I can say about me is that I'm a great networker as well. Yeah, just as time goes on, I realize that, yes, that's one of the things that I can do, and do good, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1:

I agree with that. Actually, I would say you're a great networker. And so, Beatrice, let's kind of go a bit backward into your youth age. Where did you grow up and what was life?

Speaker 2:

like. So it's interesting you ask that question because sometimes perhaps, when you get to a stage in life, people don't even cannot even conceptualize how you know the type of places some of us grew up in. So I grew up in rural northern Ghana and it was subsistence living. We just went to farm, farmed our produce, came and cooked and ate and that's it sleep. And then the following day the cycle repeated itself.

Speaker 2:

But one thing that we kind of got advantage for was missionaries brought to school to my village, and that was before I was born and my dad was the chief of my village and he had seven wives. So we're so many of us running around not knowing what we're doing. But in his youth he was also drafted into the army. I think that was in World War II. So when he came back the mission for him was to ensure that all his children got educated. So he really sent us all to school, however we were doing. It was like a set stone If you were born in our house you will go to school, whether you want to go to school or not. But I think for me going to school was a way of escape from chores. I keep telling my children I say well, you know, I think I need to send you back to Ghana, because we went to school, because we didn't want to do chores. Now our children can't, so they have to go to school. Chores now, children, guys, yeah, so that's that's how I you know I was, I grew up, um went to secondary school.

Speaker 2:

So to go to middle school involved. So those days we had primary school up to primary six and then middle school. My, at that time there was no middle school, so you finished probably at age 11 or 12, and that was it. You had to walk like five miles a day, that's 10 miles in and out every day to go to school, to continue with middle school. Yeah, so in the time of middle school, two years into middle school, I think, the walking took a toll on me. I was not well and one of the teachers suggested why don't you write a common entrance exam so that you could go to secondary school? And that's how I escaped I rode past and went to secondary school at 13. And that I had to leave the comfort of everything I knew to be in the township because there was no way I could walk from the village to the school. So I had to go and live with an auntie for five years to get secondary education.

Speaker 1:

Wow, that's amazing Ten miles a day. And when you look back now, how did that experience shape you? Because walking 10 miles for a child is a lot. There's resilience there, you know there's a lot. So how do you feel that kind of shaped your adulthood, your adulthood A lot.

Speaker 2:

I think that one thing that I can say is that, to be able to do that, a lot of children actually dropped out in those years, and for most of us in my father's house we didn't one. We didn't have an option because my dad will not allow you to drop out of school. But the other thing was the fact that we knew, because our elder brothers and sisters, our stepbrothers and sisters, had finished school and they were living in a township and having what we termed as a good life. So that was an inspiration and we couldn't like. If you wanted that kind of life, you had to endure the 10-mile journey every day. But I think that has also shaped my life, because I don't think there's anything that you can throw at me that would crush me, because you know what. I've seen it all. What is it that I can't do? So, yeah, that built me up to where I am and what I do now.

Speaker 1:

Oh, interesting. So when you left to live with your aunt, that must have been frightening, you know. Interesting because, like you said, you left the comfort of your home. So those five years you were with her, kind of going to school. What was that like?

Speaker 2:

Frightening, yes, exciting, yes. But my elder sister was living in a township, but she for some reason didn't want me with her.

Speaker 1:

So she didn't want a younger sister cramping her style.

Speaker 2:

That's it, you just nailed it. Yes, so my auntie, who was, you know, a grown woman, had to take me in, and this was a lady who looked after my sister when she was in secondary school. So I didn't know her up to that point, I didn't know her. My mom said go and live with your auntie. So I was excited to be in the township, to live the village lifestyle and to also see. In those days you'd be able to see cars running about and radios playing. That time there was no TV, we didn't have TVs. Or perhaps there was no tv, we didn't have tvs, um, or perhaps there was no tv network, so it was just radios and and and and tape recordings that you could listen to. But, um, the frightening thing was just being with someone whom I didn't know and also looking back, I think I felt really, really exposed very, very vulnerable.

Speaker 1:

What do you mean by that, though?

Speaker 2:

I mean because you know, when you are a child, there are certain things you're just scared to be alone, yeah, and when you are with somebody that you don't know, it feels like you are actually alone. She did her best and her children also did their best. Unfortunately, she recently passed. Her children also did their best to support me, but I just felt that if I could go to secondary school like a boarding school at that time I would have, but of course we didn't have money to be able to take me to boarding school that time I would have, but of course we didn't have money to be able to take me to boarding school, so I had to stay yeah, you mentioned something that I think is really interesting and I kind of want to dig a bit deeper into that before I move on.

Speaker 1:

you said that when you're there you're not alone, but you're alone and that's an interesting emotion to feel, or you know experience to have. Do you remember how you navigated it, more for yourself, emotionally? Do you remember how you managed to navigate, because you are quite young as well?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah. So for me, I think the grace that has been I mean reflecting back, I can only think about these things. Reflecting back I think the grace that I had was the zeal and the um, the passion to read. So I've always loved to read, so I would just bury myself in my books. So I would just bury myself in my books. That's all I did In the house. Close to the house was the market and you know how African markets there's so much noise and all the villages are coming to this market every three days.

Speaker 2:

My auntie, in her wisdom, wanted me to sell, like just go out there and sell things in the marketplace for someone else, so that at the end of the day they'll pay me commission. But I didn't want to do that because I wanted to read. So every three days, you know, everyone would be out and doing their thing and I would just lie there with all the noise. I would still be able to read. Now I think about it. And I would just lie there with all the noise, I would still be able to read. Now I think about it. I'm like, wow, it's remarkable. I was really in into me now. I couldn't hear anyone out there, I could focus and just learn with my books in the night. It was the same thing. There was no electricity, it had to be a lantern. You know when I tell my kids? I've told them several times and now they know the story yeah, but you know they can't even understand.

Speaker 1:

Kind of grab the concept of that.

Speaker 2:

No lights no electricity so it had to be a lantern, lantern, and I just buried myself with studies. And I think the friends that I also had two people that I could call friends were in that kind of. They weren't in that kind of, they were from the township, but they were people that I could associate with Because, again, bullying was another thing, because when you come from the village those who are in the township look at you as a village girl, so for that reason you are not respected and regardless of what you know didn't count. But the fortunate thing that these friends I had, they could see what I had and then so we were together and I would teach them whatever I had to teach them.

Speaker 1:

So otherwise, most of the time I was just buried in my books and then thanks for sharing that and I think that's so powerful and even people listening that you know, know, I just love that because it's almost like you were in a place you didn't have control. You know, you were there, you were lonely, you had no control, but the one thing you could control was reading, and so it's almost like you took that on. And it's interesting because I always talk about this that our brain does, you know, likes being in control. The problem is that most times when we're not, when we don't have the control, our brain feels you don't have control. That is when people get anxious, they get frustrated, they get depressed, a lot of emotions.

Speaker 1:

But focusing on what you can control, that's the power that's so powerful. It's almost like you know, taking that control back in what you can, and you did that in the studying and then also forming good relationships. Now let's kind of go a bit further. So after middle school or high school, you then why, you know, I know you went on to study nursing and I think my question is, why nursing specifically?

Speaker 2:

Why, yeah so again, anything I did had to be in alignment with affordability. That was it. So when I was growing up in the village, I was a nurse, always a nurse, because I, you know how children take characters. When you're growing up and you're playing, this person will say I'm a doctor. I was always a nurse because one of my elder sisters, um, was a nurse and she, anytime she came to the village, she would be able to go and see one of these sick people and then, you know, they would get well. So that used to fascinate me and so when we were playing, I I would go and get a plug, seeds of trees, and then that would be my medicine I'm giving to people.

Speaker 2:

But when I went to secondary school I didn't want to be a nurse anymore. I had grown out of it. But when I finished and the results came, I could go to sixth form, I could go to university. I was sixth form and proceeded to university, but of course it was a case of you know, there's no money for you to go to anywhere else than to do nursing, because at that point they were giving us bursaries. The government had just decided that they needed to boost the training of nurses, so they were giving us bursaries. So that was a good thing for me, because then I could earn money not to worry about my own being looked after or looking after myself. But that also gave me the opportunity to then look after my siblings as well, because I had money to do that for them.

Speaker 1:

Oh, wow, that's great. So you studied nursing, and then what? How did what made you come to the UK? Um, how did that happen? Because you know, because now you are still in this city, I suppose. Yeah, okay, so let's talk us through that journey.

Speaker 2:

Of course, in terms of the uh after the nursing. So nursing, doing nursing, was one of the greatest um fulfillment of my life because, um, before I even went into nursing I was waiting for the admission and it took long. And um, nursing has been known, notoriously, for people have to bribe before you can go into. So some of you who are in the West and from the West you don't know what that is In Africa it's what you know kind of scenario, especially where there's money involved. But the fortunate thing for me was the principal at that school was a seminarian. He had been to seminary school before so he didn't do bribe, otherwise perhaps I wouldn't have gotten in. I'm in another school before, so he didn't do bribe, otherwise perhaps I wouldn't have gotten in. But I was waiting for too long and I decided to branch into teaching, to kind of apply and go into teaching. So I went into teaching teacher training college for like three months and as soon as the admission for nursing came in I did a transition. I just felt at peace because, number one, the space wasn't crowded. Most of the people I was training with were matured women already who had done what they used to call enrolled nursing and then they were just coming in to do their state registered. So it just felt good for me and I mean a lot of them looked after me as well, because I was just a small girl, small girl with a lot of ambition, like some of them actually saw that, you know, I was very ambitious. I was compassionate as well, because looking after my siblings was something that some of them could not understand, because how would a young girl be looking after others instead of spending her money?

Speaker 2:

But anyway, so I completed and then I worked for a few years and then the opportunity to go abroad came, because I think it was during the Labour government, when Labour had just taken over after a long reign of conservative, like we're seeing now, they opened the door for health staff to come, and that was how I got the opportunity. Even with that, people were still asking me and I said you know, I don't have the money, I don't have the money. You know how I mean? Mean, you are the brain um expert. When you say I don't or can't, that's it, you shut yourself out. So until one day I got the um hint that one of my colleagues had come and her husband was a bank manager, so I knew that she could get the money to come and then, so that was when I was able to contact her, and then she helped me with the process, and then I landed here in this cold weather Wow.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to go back a bit and come forward, if there's something you touched on that I like, which is ambition. You said that they saw the ambition in you, beatrice. Where do you believe this ambition came from? Because, from what you've described, there wasn't that much. You know, you came from the village. You didn't really see that much, even though your dad, exclusively, was training his children. Where do you believe that, or where do you feel that ambition came from?

Speaker 2:

I think both my mom and dad were very ambitious. So my dad was very ambitious, he could see us past the village. I mean, I just wish there was some type of recording of his conversation that we could replay, because he would always. I mean, I remember one time we went to because when they prepared him food like the African tradition you have to go and kneel down and he'll wash his hands and then he's wearing a watch and then I say, oh, your watch will get wet and then it will spoil it. And he says, no, not this type of watch. When you grow up you'll be able to wear this type of like. I still remember that. So he could see us, you know, beyond the village.

Speaker 2:

And for my mom my mom unfortunately she didn't go to school, but my mom is, so I think she's the most ambitious person that I could ever see in this world, because when she was growing up you know, young people you give each other names and things like that she actually called herself, named herself, a broad queen, like the queen, like the queen of, yeah, the I don't know how to international queen exactly, and even up to now that's how they still call her. Wow, and she did not have any exposure whatsoever to anything. So, and her like, going to school, being able to pay school fees, because she was trading, so any time during holidays I have to go home, like the long three months I have to go home and actually farm so that you raise the money to go back and pay school fees, and all that. She was just sold out on making sure that all of us had education because she just knew that was the way out for us. Yeah, so I would say that it's my parents.

Speaker 1:

You know what, before you go on to the next question, I'm gonna stop. I'm gonna stop you there because I'm smiling so much, because I'm listening to you talking about your parents, talking about your mom, who literally was a dreamer. You know, she had ambition. She was dreaming big and named herself international queen. And people don't realize the power of dreaming, the power of words, the power of what you actually can believe in. And even though she didn't have it as well okay, she was building up her business. But your parents really put this ambition onto you children.

Speaker 1:

And the reason why I'm smiling a lot is back to this your book. Win the money game with your child. You are literally doing the same thing. You've raised two business business, young ladies or you're, you know youth and now you've written a book doing the same thing. So the reason I was trying is that it's just so powerful how we raise children, what we say to our children and what we do. And I know this will come up more in our conversation, because you've literally taken what you've learned from them and pushed it into your own children, and now you're even spreading it out into the world to all children, because as people read your book, they can do the same with their own children. That is just so incredible.

Speaker 2:

That's amazing, actually, because I never really think about it that way. Honestly, I've never really thought about it that way. My mom was so ambitious I've never really thought about it that way. My mum was so ambitious In her growing up years. My grandma looked after her because in our clunk your brother's child you could look after your brother's daughter.

Speaker 1:

That's right, yes, and then.

Speaker 2:

So when the child is given to you, the the parents will say that this is your child. You raise the child and whoever marries the child, you decide. So my, my, um, my grandma then asked my mom at some point in her life she had three sons, all great sons which of these men would you want to marry when you grew up? And the youngest son was educated, and my mom chose him.

Speaker 1:

Oh, you see yeah.

Speaker 2:

To live her choice, because eventually they betrothed her to my dad, but she already knew what she wanted. As a young person she knew how good life was, so to speak. So, yes, um, thanks for highlighting that, because I've I've never really correlated at the um the sequence of you know how things are panning out yeah, that's incredible, incredible, right, okay, so now you like arrive in the UK, young lady, another big country.

Speaker 1:

How did you navigate the transition?

Speaker 2:

not very well, so unfortunately. Um. So when the opportunity came and I started, I had, um, only newly been married and was expecting a child, so but I had to do the the visa process. My husband is a nurse as well, so I did the visa process for both of us until it got to a point that we needed. He needed to go for a visa because I had a baby. So he came first and then a year later, my blessing, my eldest daughter was then one and a half years old. She was okay enough to stay with my mom before I came and then brought her over. So when I got here, it was I left Ghana 25 degrees and got to UK six hours later, minus three degrees. I have to laugh, even my greatest enemy, honestly.

Speaker 1:

That's so funny.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so it wasn't easy. But I think the other thing was the fact that I had to wait for my what's the word? Adaptation. So we used to do three months adaptation and I had to wait for that. And in the process of waiting for that I was, I had to work in a nursing home. Now I had just finished midwifery and I was looking after mothers and babies. It was a joyful I for nursing, like I really really loved to nurse. I just loved looking out for people, and so to move from there to elder, like from birth to the end of life, was really took its toll as well, because it I just felt that my services wasn't valued, because what's the point? But not until when I started with nursing in the NHS, things picked up for me. But I think the difference is also the fact that with nursing in Ghana we used to do five to seven hours maximum, and then I got here and we had to do 12 hours shift oh, wow yeah yeah, it's a real culture shock, right?

Speaker 1:

okay, so things happened. You then have your children and, um, why did you then decide to go into business? Actually, I'm asking this question, but I know why. Because, from what you've already described being brought up by a strong businesswoman I'm not surprised. But what was your mindset in actually getting into business and what was the business why? You know? Talk us through that.

Speaker 2:

So, in terms of this country, I never really kind of settled in. My aim was to make some money go home, but the problem was that I needed my children to be in Ghana so that I could have that freedom to work quickly and make the money. My mom, she grew up in the village, everything in the village, so she didn't find it easy to stay in the township so that the children could go to school. So I had to, you know, bring blessing over and then obviously looking after family, and all that just took his toll. But my main thing was that I wanted to go and open a pharmaceutical company. You know people would say that, oh, because you're a nurse, you go and open a clinic. When I'm doing business, I'm thinking of the easiest way possible to be able to serve people and to make money. Pharmacy is opening a big shop that I would sell to people. End of story. I know how difficult it is to look after patients and when it comes to opening a clinic, it involves so much more than you know. It's not a simple business model. That's what I'm trying to say in a nutshell.

Speaker 2:

So I did a degree in business. So I a nutshell, um, so I did a degree in business, so I missed all this. I did a degree in business so that I could go home and then after that, then I realized that the young people I was looking after back home they all finished school and there was no jobs for them and then I said so, even if I go, they are going to be my burden because, auntie, auntie, do this, auntie, do that. I will never be able to live the life I want to live. So why don't I work my way of bringing them over and then leaving them here and going back home?

Speaker 1:

Interesting.

Speaker 2:

So that was the plan. And then so, um, I finished degree, finished, um, the the next thing you didn't I mean the business degree. But I then said, okay, international development. You know, if you're from africa, you know that ngos they make money. So for me, like vanessa would say she was telling my son yesterday she says you know, anything mom does is the money game. You have to win the money game because what, what, what else, as long as you're serving people and making the money, that's the most important thing.

Speaker 2:

So I did the international development program so that I could go work for NGO non-governmental organization. But, of course, soon as I finished, somebody introduced this idea of agency nursing to me. She said you know what Agency nurses? They're making a lot of money. And true, true, we were making a lot of money. We were receiving like double what we earned at that time. And also there was a tax loophole that everybody exploited and weren't paying a lot of tax. So we're making great money. Until the government realized it and closed that opportunity. But what that then led to was that oh, wow, okay, this is, our business is and you know, I just didn't feel like going back to be making 15, 16 pound an hour, 12 hour shift, not children. So that is when I started the business.

Speaker 1:

Wow. So what is the business you started?

Speaker 2:

So I started social media marketing.

Speaker 1:

Why social media marketing?

Speaker 2:

Well, that's something that I myself don't know why. Well, that's something that I myself don't know why. So, from the beginning, when all this saga happened, with government changing the regulations, I decided to resign from agency and I wasn't thinking of what to do. What year was this? 2017.

Speaker 2:

Okay, around this time, I saw this lady, caroline Marsh, on the TV program Secret Millionaire. Now, up until that point, I had never seen a black woman on that program. I was watching it, but I never saw a black man, never mind a woman. So I was watching it, but I never saw a black man, never mind the woman. So I was so excited. I'm somebody who likes to celebrate people. When you're winning, I'm your cheerleader, so I'm jumping in my room and then everybody's as it was this. I said come and see this woman. Come and see this woman and following her on, going online and finding her, reading about her story. She just inspired me so much.

Speaker 2:

So I started going to business conferences with the aim of doing property. But when I got to businesses the conferences, again, the easiest way out was social media marketing, because they said ah, you can do this business in your bed. I said find me on. But I think seriously what my motivation was. This guy was talking about your children can do this. You can get your children to do this. Okay, yeah, and I said, yes, I can get my girls to do it, oh wow yeah.

Speaker 2:

And that's how I signed up.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, Wow, that's amazing. That's amazing. So you then started the business because I met you probably around 2018. Yes, I think, yes, 2018.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, 2017 was just about preparation, because I was just reading books, I was going to seminars, I was doing things like that. Yeah actually started. What starting point was 2018.

Speaker 1:

So, beatrice, you then started the business and, um, what then led you? And, okay, talk us through what you've done with your girls, because I think that's incredible, so that inspired you to start, because you could actually, you know, get your children in and, to be fair, a lot of people will hear that and it will excite them, but they don't actually do it, because to really bring kids into, to build them up to, into business is not that straightforward or easy actually with this generation. So how did you manage to do it? And do it very well, because I've heard your girls speak, I've heard their story and I think it's just so powerful. So how did you do it?

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much. Yeah, so when I sign up and then I came home, I I'm somebody. When I'm excited, I'm excited, when I'm not excited, everybody knows. So, with that excitement, all I wanted to do was to get them to, to buy into into the the idea of social media marketing. I think at that time Instagram was not very old, you know, compared to Facebook, and they were starting to get involved.

Speaker 2:

And initially I said no because I wasn't online, but hearing what my then mentor talked about, you know, getting the children involved, I kind of bought into the idea. And then so I started with a blog. He said write a blog, open a social media account, but, importantly, write a blog. So during the blog writing the blog, I needed pictures, and then Vanessa would get me the pictures of food. I started with health, and then so she because she, she's artistic she just decided that you know what, I'm gonna open an Instagram account and then be posting these pictures.

Speaker 2:

And then she did, and lesson started with the beauty account, because I was having challenges with her even when she started to put on makeup at 14. I said no, so so at that point she then also started, and then they grew so fast on Instagram because they knew these things and I didn't. I had to learn from scratch. So they built up their Beauty. With Blessings account, which is the beauty account on Instagram, went over 20,000. Like, it didn't take long at all. And then Vanessa did hers up to 4,000. And then they were the ones that found out how to monetize this.

Speaker 2:

So I'm still trying learning how to speak, learning how to do webinars and then they were just really flying um with it because it it didn't have to be that knee compelling them to do it, it was something that they loved.

Speaker 2:

And then they just picked it up because when vanessa went with shake shark, which is a multi-billion dollar company, I didn't even know that that's how big that company is, but because they saw her profile on on Instagram, they wanted her to promote their food. So and and if she would tell you in her story, it didn't just come to her, she had to work for it. So, in terms of bringing our children up into this kind of lifestyle, it has to be something that they enjoy doing and it doesn't have to feel like work, because if it feels like work to them, they are not going to do it. It will be like you are trying to fit them into a box. When myself and you met on the speaking program, that was my skills now helping them to put this into, articulate, this story, so that they could help other young people hear their story, because they were doing, you know really well just before the pandemic. So that that's how our journey has evolved into now doing coaching and all that we have done.

Speaker 1:

That's amazing. That is amazing. A family of entrepreneurs. I just love it. And you said something really vital there. It has to be something that they enjoy doing, and you didn't really need to compel them, but you gave them the platform. It's almost like you gave them the environment, the platform, the support to do it, and, because it's such a different generation as well, they pick up things so easily. It's something that is there free for. It's just amazing.

Speaker 2:

No, well done, well done. It's incredible. Now let's come to your book. The book is called Win the Money Game with your Child how to Achieve Financial Freedom for your Family.

Speaker 2:

In conferences and in women's organizations and in churches, just getting people to be inspired about the fact that you could actually use the online space to create an income. And then so, when the pandemic happened, they were sat at home doing nothing. We couldn't go to churches, and so we decided I mean, they were doing a few online forums, but I asked, I told them, why don't you put this in the course? And then that's what they did. So they were able to do the recording of the models, editing, uploading into funnels. You know all that. You know everything that you talk about digital. They were able to do it and and for me, that just was inspirational to see that, from the point of knowing about instagram to this point of being able to become course creators, um was just, was just incredible. So, indeed, they did that. And then, um, parents just were asking okay, how can I work with my child? How can I work with my child? And that's when we launched a Simply Family Business program. Again, as you were saying, the training that we did within the speaking speaking with Andy was having a model that you can actually get people through, and so we got that model as, simply, that is just helping people to search for their niche, helping them to identify their platform that they would actually use to promote their business, helping them to master the business process, ie how to set business plans and goals and then helping them to position themselves as the go-to person in the industry and then helping them leverage the power of the website worldwide so not just social media but other digital media website Google to be able to promote themselves and then help them yield profit, which is being able to onboard customers and process and help them achieve results. So that's the simple model. We launched the coaching and then so, of course, coaching means that people who are interested in actually getting coached.

Speaker 2:

But then, as time went on, I decided that you know what? Why don't I put this in a book? Because, again, that was from my initial training. That was one of the things that they talked about. If you have something, it's not everybody who would be able to get to do business with you at the top end, but people can start from a book and then they learn to buy this concept, because I know that the online is a haven for us. If we embrace it, most of us parents will go to work for hours like I mentioned 12 hours, 14 hours. We're working and leaving the children at home. Meanwhile they have the ideas, they know what to do to be able to make money. If we could support them. So that is the reason for the book. That's amazing.

Speaker 1:

So, of course, I've looked at the book and it's just full of so much resources, so much information to really help people build. So, from your perspective, you know just kind of bringing it all together. What's the main message in the book? Because I looked at it, you've got everything. I've not finished reading it, but I will. It's got selling, it's got you know, and even the psychology of selling, which I find quite interesting as well. You really went into that which is so powerful. So for you, in terms of writing the book, what's the core message in the book? And also, what lessons have you learned over time in terms of really helping children develop a business that you want to share with other parents as well?

Speaker 2:

Lovely. Thank you so much. So the core message about the book is financial freedom. We just need to be financially free as parents and then the joy of parenting will be incredibly amazing. But in order for us to become financially free, we have to go to work to be able to bring in money.

Speaker 2:

Unfortunately, we don't know much about money. Most of us don't. I think it's over 90% or 95% of people don't know why they go to work in the first place. Because they go just to make money, to come and settle bills. But that's not the key reason why we go to work. Settled bills, but that's not the key reason why we go to work.

Speaker 2:

We should go to work to be able to make the money, to follow the principles of built-in wealth, so that life becomes enjoyable. Because we don't know the principles of money and how to manage money, we are in the motion of going to work, so we just go to work make the money, spend the money. Go to work, make the money, spend the money. Then the children are there who can make the money. So why don't we learn the skills that can help us? Number one then we have a dual purpose of imagine working with your child who loves what they do. It's amazing because you see the smile in their face when they make money. So, in a nutshell, financial freedom. How do we get there? How do we get our children involved to make it faster, quicker for us, so that we can live life the way we desire for ourselves? That is the message of the book.

Speaker 1:

Well, thanks so much. So what is the difference between financial freedom, or creating that financial freedom, and creating wealth? What's the difference between both?

Speaker 2:

So financial freedom means that you don't have to go to work if you don't want to. Whatever you have invested in in life, be it housing, be it stocks, whatever it is that you have invested in can actually generate money every month that will cover your expenses. So you don't need to go to work. It doesn't mean that you won't work, because the point of working is also to inspire you also to build more. Now in terms of wealth, you need to ensure that not only are you getting the money just to survive or to meet your needs, but there's enough money that can cover your lifetime and cover several generations to come. So wealth building is beyond just financial freedom, but we have to start from, first of all, getting to become financially independent.

Speaker 1:

So what challenges have you found, though, in creating or even teaching your children about financial freedom and creating work? What challenges have you found along the way to help other parents? Yes, Okay.

Speaker 2:

So in terms of bringing up my children, what some of us unfortunately think is that it's going to be easy. Nothing good comes easy. There was no networking event. I didn't send them. We were forever in London going to network event after network event. Now I remember one of the events we went. This was one lady called maybe it's a monk or she's a businesswoman a Ghanaian businesswoman in London. I remember at the time that they say introduce yourself. I saw my daughter going into the bathroom and I went after her because she was trying to dodge that. Yes, and I went after her and at that time I've already just been speaking to a lady who said she was a foodie. So foodie means that their passion is about food and they're posting things on Instagram. So I just went and said oh Vanessa, where are you going? She says I'm going to use the bathroom. I said can you speak to this lady because she's a foody? And up to this day, she and that lady are still in contact.

Speaker 2:

So as a parent, you need to come out, otherwise your child. You can't just sit and ask them to do xyz. It won't work because they also have their insecurities. If we parents are having insecurities, they also have insecurities, so we have to guide them. So they have the ideas, but they are waiting for us to now guide them to that place where they can stand in their own power. Now Vanessa has been invited here and there She'll be going to Manchester to do a speech.

Speaker 2:

Some of these things I'm not even. I mean they send me emails, but now that she's 18, she does it herself anyway. But they used to send me emails to say, oh, can Vanessa speak at this? Can Vanessa do this? Can Vanessa do that? And I would be the first person to. Even sometimes, if they so, for example, they would send an email and set the deadline and just for any reason, if I haven't seen the deadline and then it passes, I would personally go on the phone and speak to the person because I just want her to have that exposure.

Speaker 2:

So for parents, we need to be sold out on this that they cannot do it without us. We cannot sit down and send them. It's not an errand where you say, go and bring me the remote control. You have to be there walking with them side by side, going to children's event, going to adults event, introducing them to people. I mean when vanessa started with her her website design. I was busy introducing her in the church. I said, oh, vanessa has done the website and and she'll be like, oh, mom. And then so people started patronizing her web design. Blessing is currently working with Donia. I introduced her to Donia, I introduced her and then Donia introduced her to her sister, who employed her to work with. You know the likes of the Olympic Games when they were doing it the last time she actually did social media on the Olympic Games. Like you have to be out there as a parent to get them to that level. So yeah, in terms of challenges, they will be there, but we have to be having that discipline to see them through.

Speaker 1:

I love that. I love that. I love the fact that when she was trying to escape, you called her back, but what you did is brought her back to speak to someone, that they had something in common and that then kind of calmed the nerves or the anxiety, and that was very smart as well. And something else you mentioned is giving them the exposure. Will it be scary? Yes, it was, and that was why she was trying to run away. And that's that flight, flight or freeze mechanism. Hers was the flight response, trying to run, but what you did was brought her back to something that will calm her. That is the foodie.

Speaker 1:

I love that. That's so powerful and these are skills we can implement in different aspects of our lives to support our children, to be able to be resilient, because challenges come, yes, but how do they navigate it when they come? So I think one final question, because we're getting close to it, and one other question I want to ask is now that you've really brought up your children, trained them to build financially independent or to be financially independent, how have they used this to their benefits now, in terms of the education, in terms of life? How have they used it?

Speaker 2:

Wow, that's a very powerful question and actually that's the excitement of this all, because at the end of the day, I keep saying I started making money when I was young and I haven't, you know, I didn't become financially independent quick enough because I didn't know the principles, but my aim is to ensure that I instill those into my children. So Vanessa recently got base of this. Okay, she. One of the things that I always wanted to do, or always want to do, is to help the children to do the things that they love to do. So vanessa was artistic.

Speaker 2:

When she was going to sixth form, we had to look for a school that was over a one hour away from our home so that she could get into the art school. Uh, it turned out that not only was she didn't do art, but it also was a computer science oriented. But because she loved art and she couldn't do the arts without the computer, according to the program, guess what? She accepted to do computer science, double computer science, for somebody who had never done computer. She didn't do computer science in secondary school. So that's how the love of something can actually pull you into doing something really useful.

Speaker 2:

So, based off that, when she finished one of the things that the school is good at is helping them get apprenticeship. So you can imagine she was traveling over an hour to school. But what has she got from there? She was able because of the computer science that she did. Now she doesn't even talk of us. Surprisingly, she was able to get apprenticeship to work with Just Eat as a tech support. Oh wow, she's earning an undergraduate salary, yeah, at age 18. I mean, I look at it and I'm like am I even dreaming?

Speaker 1:

That is incredible.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, blessing is at school, but she's working online. She's still working with Donny all these years. When she was doing her gap year, there was this government program that Donny had. She was earning good money in pandemic. She was earning money sitting at home. Was earning good money in pandemic. She was earning money sitting at home. Sometimes she could go out. You are out and she's holding her phone for the work that she did. Every now and then she would glance and answer whatever question that they wanted to answer and then so the ease of things that they can do to earn money is actually beneficial because she's reading marketing as well, but she's able to work remotely.

Speaker 2:

Like I said, I didn't like england, so they can go and live anywhere in the warm country and still earn good money. My last but not the least, my son. He started with t account using sports cars, so with that I mean I am sold out. Whatever they are going to do if it's not detrimental to their growth. I'm a cheerleader, so he's been posting. Now his account is over 5,000 followers on TikTok and he's got over a million views on his videos.

Speaker 2:

I mean come with time he is going to be able to monetize that account yeah that's for doing the things that he enjoys. He doesn't have to stress for the money and for me that. I think that's the message yeah, that's really powerful.

Speaker 1:

That's really powerful because what you're giving them is um skills, that it also enables them to be very adaptable, um, and to be able to really make a way even when problems or challenges, obstacles, are there, and that's really um so valuable. So, honestly, well done, beatrice. This is really this has been a fantastic conversation. So where can people find you in terms of your business? But, most importantly now, where can they find this book? Win the Money Game with your Child, and I love that. The money game with your child. We really didn't have time to go much deeper into quite a bit of the things, but the book is so detailed. It really has so much you know. Get in the money game, money mindset, which is so powerful, and then the research roadmap of how to start a business, digital Platform Planner, business Process Accelerator, brand Design Masterpiece. This book is just phenomenal. It's a great, great book. So, understanding what money is. I love that. So where can people buy this book? Everyone needs a copy. Where can they get it?

Speaker 2:

thank you so much. Yes, so, uh, the book is on amazon, um, if you type in beatrice yacobo, win the money game, uh, it's all. It's live on amazon. Uh, it's also on my social media channels. So I am beatrice yacobo, all of the channels um, on instagram, on linkedin, on youtube. Yeah, um, it's all over the place. So, or just contact me, info at beatriceyacobocom, and indeed, we, I will get this. I will send you some copies awesome, awesome.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to put all Beatrice's information in the description for this podcast so that you can contact her, and there will be a link to where you can buy the book on Amazon or wherever else you get books from. But this book is just an amazing book. There's just so much detail and depth into it. And also, if you are thinking now, how do I help my children build up their own financial independence, how do I enable them to become independent? Beatrice, the information will be at the bottom. Do reach out to her. She's done it, as you can see, so she will be so much help to you. Beatrice, thank you so much for coming on to this podcast. I want you to just finally give us one last final wisdom to leave us with at the end of this podcast.

Speaker 2:

Lovely. Thank you so much for having me. I really, really appreciate you. I just want us to know in my opinion, parenting can be amazing if we didn't have to strive for money, if we didn't have to run to work, run to this, run to that, not having time to look after the children, not having time to take them to school, not having time to be there when they come back from school. Like you are going out when they are sleeping, you come back when they are in bed. Seriously, we need to think differently and Win. The Money Game will give you the answers to some of the questions, some of the things that you felt. You didn't know how. All the information is in there for you to take charge, because, at the end of the day, children are a gift and I think that we should be rejoicing while raising them.

Speaker 1:

Thank you so much, beatrice. What a great way to end it. Great advice to parents, actually. That's lovely. Thank you once again, and I look forward to hearing all the great things that you're doing with your children and the business. Thank you again, beatrice, for coming on to this podcast. Thank you for joining us on today's episode of Lead to Excel podcast. I hope our discussion has inspired you. Remember achieving excellence is a marathon and every step counts towards your goals. If today's conversation sparked any thoughts or questions, feel free to share them with me on LinkedIn, facebook and Twitter, and consider leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform. You can also find this podcast on YouTube. Your feedback helps us grow and reach more listeners. Don't forget to subscribe to never miss an episode filled with expert insights and inspiration. Until next time, this is Maureen Chiana, reminding you to stay curious, stay driven and together let's remain limitless and change the world. Bye for now.