Who wants to be an ENTREPRENUER?

The Boss

Miss Sandra Olatokunbo Ajayi CEO Enigma is a German born Nigerian. I have an LL.B from the Ambrose Alli University  and a diploma from New York film academy; I am a member of the Nigerian Bar Association and the Nigerian Institute of marketers. I also have 8 years media and events marketing experience

The Vision

It starts with a clear picture in your mind of what you would want to spend the rest of your life doing.

I took a pen and wrote this down

                   “Someday i will be a role model to young achievers via my numerous platforms”

Then i got out of bed and the journey began.

Enigma remains a mystery to me simply because we keep evolving. We are a company set up to discover, equip and promote young creative people.

Every journey must start with a step and for us this step was in November 2012 when we launched one of our show concepts.

Trust me it`s been challenging starting a career in show business in the last 15 months from waking up at mid night to write down an idea or proposal, getting up at 5am just to beat the 3^rd mainland traffic, competing in a male dominated industry, keeping late nights, avoiding bad and false press, dealing with negative comments, lack of finances, constant power outages, i can go on and on.

However, Nigeria has a lot of raw talents and the sky is the limit if you know what you are doing. our industry is the most successful in the continent and i am proudly a part of it.

Don’t stop just because your vision irritates a few 

people i have to deal with on a regular basis include established and notable artists, record labels, media houses, bands, rental companies, venue owners, sound engineers, production crews, on air personalities, brand managers, corporate executives, young show organizers, upcoming artists to name a few

With regards to competition i have carved a niche for my brand so as to have a competitive advantage. There are other platforms but we have our uniqueness.
Please write this down "it`s not always about what you know but also who you know" you are the chief marketing officer of your business so expand your contact base.

People skills is very important in this business, every now and then people will annoy you. Lateness to rehearsals, damage done to equipments, breach from venue owners, arrogance from artist managers etc

I have lost it and blown over a couple of times then i realized the secret is to get a manager to handle such things and just chill out. otherwise you are labelled the bitchy or bad boss.

Now i know that it`s not easy to run a company. It’s easy to judge your boss for being disorganized or wreck less till you start a business yourself. One thing I have learnt is to have a business plan and proper accounting system

Some errors i would erase from my last few months include some expenditure i made. It is wiser to invest than spend. I lost some money for no good reason. starting small and gradually is better than trying to get there in one day.

It is also important to choose your team based on value addition and not sentiments.

Paid employment vs entrepreneurship? i love being called boss lady not just because it is cool but because it challenges me and gives me the opportunity to develop others, create employment and meet a need on my own terms.

I miss the constant monthly pay though sometimes it came late, i miss having a boss who would have the migraines while i bought the pain killers, i miss knowing that if i didn't go to work the job would go on.

My motivation is definitely not money. I love what i do and it has kept me going this last year. Passion has fueled me 

One show i won’t forget in a hurry is when we hosted Mike Anyasodo and the rain came down but the people stayed behind regardless. It was an awesome night.

I have an awesome team who i can`t thank enough kells my darling brother, Austin my best buddy, Kslim our dynamic hypeman, Rap Omega the calm one and Mynz our Ghana based engine.

I can`t end this without saying a big thank you to Dele Momodu who pointed me in this direction, Osaze Ebuekwu who read every single proposal and gave me my first break, Abbey Ford who gave me my first venue, Olisa Adibua who gave us hypes every week on The Beat Fm, Oby Anya friend for life, Mayowa my darling of life, my mum who made time to visit my shows, my entire family, enemies as well. You all rock!

Don’t stop just because your vision irritates a few it`s convenient to earn a constant pay every month but it is commendable to pay someone else every month.

7 Tips from me to you
1. Do proper research about your business
2. Start small and grow gradually
3. Guard your ideas jealously
4. Never get too comfortable keep evolving
5. Write the vision down
6.  Hire based on value addition not sentiments
7. Pray, pray and pray

Entrepreneurship is worth it!


Ryan Seacrest and Cecil Hammond are my industry role models
Catch me on Linked In

The journey to entrepreneurship

Are you tired of waking up at 4 am every morning to catch the first bus or beat the morning rush and traffic? 

I bet you often wish your boss could call in sick or go on a vacation to mars

Remember that one person in your office who always points out your errors and stands in the way of your promotion?

what about the salary that never added up?

How about that jerk who just hates your red lipstick, fitted skirts or designer shirts

Trust me people, i have been down that road

It`s funny how we all say the things we would do differently and how we would have staff welfare packages in place, top notch furniture and equipments, proper accounting system etc and end up almost falling flat on our faces with debts, deadlines and different challenges.

Stay tuned to how some of us have been faring since we said goodbye to paid employment and embarked on entrepreneurship.

All the stuff you can`t imagine