Biznextafrica Entrepreneur

Emem Abasi Ema, the CEO of One Management - A full Service Media Startegy and Support Agency, shares with us her years of wisdom through her creative mind. I am a lawyer by training with a diverse background in the creative industry, which started with being a member of a gospel/motivational group called KUSH and now as a creative entrepreneur wearing several hats as a producer, creative strategist, events coordinator and marketing consultant. I am also currently undergoing an executive MBA course in Creative Leadership. When we started at One Management, we noticed there was a gap in the creative industry that needed to be filled. Today, what we pioneered has opened up an opportunity for several others to venture into other sectors within and outside the industry. ONE Management has evolved from being just a creative talent management company to a business, which also provides creative strategy consulting, marketing communications, event production & support, marketing support, audio-visual production etc. it has been quite an interesting evolution over the years.

One of the things we look out for is how passionate a prospective employee is about what we do. If their personality embodies our business culture, then they may fit just right in.

When the collective shares a common goal and vision to succeed, success is imminent.

My definition of an entrepreneur is someone who has a lot to offer society through a product/service and is willing to put in the work, time and energy; and to surmount the challenges involved in ensuring that he/she delivers.

Challenges depend on the business sector; for some it's the erratic power supply, for others who are venturing into a novel territory; it is getting people to buy into the business. For others, it is access to funds from financial institutions to back SMEs.

I have learnt to maintain an insatiable thirst to do better than the last achievement. My most trying time has been the loss of loved ones. In the process of dealing with the loss, I discovered strength that I didn’t know I had and it gave me the will to go on. It also made me get more involved in certain causes and issues in the society.

Superior knowledge about your industry, the ability to think and be at least three steps ahead of your competition, are paramount to success as a business person. You have to be authentic and resilient.

A typical day for me involves going through and responding to emails, checking in with clients, then with the team on any ideas we may have for ongoing or prospective projects and of course there’s the gym.

I’ve been blessed with an understanding family and have also learnt to balance work and family life.

I believe Long term success can be achieved by being consistent in your quality of service. Be persistent in getting better at what you do. Remain curious. Entrepreneurs don’t show the world 90% of their challenges; the sleepless nights, how many times doors have been shut in their faces, how many times they've been ridiculed, etc. A successful entrepreneur uses such challenges as motivation to do better and prove the haters wrong. We were funded through personal savings and by family and friends and maintain a robust customer base by keeping in touch with clients, their needs, the trends etc. If you’re not the one creating the trend, make sure you are part of it. Clients do not like to think they’re being serviced by a firm/vendor unaware of what will make them stay ahead of competition.

I would like to sit and discuss at length with my late Dad- Inyang Ema; from personal experience and other parties’ submissions, he was well ahead of his time in terms of technology and creativity. It would be amazing to know what he thinks of the development in the world, how effortlessly technology marries creativity and ask him to score my progress so far…objectively.

My parents have been my greatest inspiration. They are exceptional people, who have taught me how to be selfless, believe in myself and give my best in all I do.

Being allowed to make all my crazy ideas come to life, the freedom to think and birth ideas is the best part of running my own business. My most satisfying moment in business has been each time an idea comes to life and we have a satisfied customer. I think the major difference between entrepreneurs and employees is drive. Also circumstances beyond people’s control will either make them stay in their comfort zone. I don’t think one is braver than the other, it depends on where you thrive and excel.

Satisfied clients are our marketing managers, they do most of our marketing, we get referrals and our work speaks for us. We’ve been fortunate to work with clients who believe in us and push us to do better. We’ve had clients who have motivated us to gain new grounds, just by asking and trusting us to deliver.

One Management has been successful in creating a sense of family to include even our clients. We are aware that we need to treat each other the same way we would treat our nuclear family. We look out for one another and work in the best interest of all. That helps each of us put our best foot forward. One for all, all for one.

I have learnt to focus on my focus, take more calculated risks; be more jealous with my time, learn and align myself with the right mentors.

I read a lot, presently reading four books at the same time. I spend as much time as I can with family, hit the gym, travel when I can and meet like-minded people.

Apple & Netflix for Innovation, Under Amour for innovation and being community-centric and several startups in Nigeria too many to mention are some of the brands I admire.

Over the next decade, I see us owning a huge slice of the global creative industry pie' leading with innovation and propagating the Nigerian culture.

If I could do it all over again, I would have perhaps leaned more on my intuition, especially in putting a team together. I think every perceived regret has been an opportunity for us to learn. To conquer doubt, you have to think back on all the moments you almost gave up but didn’t and met a breakthrough, or all the people whose livelihood is hinged on that decision, you think about those before you who never gave up.

I see such periods as a chance to reevaluate the situation and correct whatever kinks or do it all over again. Emems Entrepreneurs Quote: The light at the end of the tunnel regardless of the distractions, does exist; let the challenges on your way as you move towards it motivate you to making that light reality.