Aisha Shafii Ndayako is Founder of The Visual Book. Here, she talks to us about building her business, what she hopes to achieve in the future and shares advice for her younger self.
I was born in Nigeria and raised there. I moved to England for university and graduated with a first class honours in business management and economics from the University of Brighton. I am currently doing my masters in applied economics and international development at reading university whilst running my business, The Visual Book.
I did sit down to plan my career: where I want to go, and what I need to do to get there. At the same time, I try not to be too hard on myself and accept things as they come, even if they don’t go as planned.
I’ve certainly encountered a great deal of difficulty, from stocking issues to problems with my website, which caused me to miss out on more than 15 sales in the first week. When you first launch a company, I believe in most cases you will face a new obstacle each week; you simply need to be prepared for anything that may come your way.
My greatest accomplishment, I believe, is having created my product and built my company from the ground up at such a young age.
My accomplishments can be attributed in part to the help I’ve received from others, as well as to the effort I’ve put out and the constant prayers I do. My mother, siblings, other family members, and close friends have been very supportive, and they have continually encouraged me to put in a lot of effort.
I believe that mentoring can be of great benefit in a variety of ways, including enhancing one’s self-confidence and communication skills, among other things. I have not yet mentored anyone, nor am I now being mentored by anyone else, but I would very much like to do so in the future.
If there was one thing that I could alter, it would be to ensure that there are sufficient organisations that support women and provide money for women to establish and expand their businesses.
The world is bigger than you believe and your worries aren’t as significant as you think, so just be kind to yourself always. Never stop praying, and never lose your faith.
When you are faced with a significant choice, always think about how it will affect your life in a year or two.
My present objective is to grow my business, put in a lot of effort, have my product sold in retail outlets, and ultimately have my company be recognised for the innovative product it offers. Also, I want to keep working hard in order to successfully complete my master’s degree with first-class honours.
