I am Lillian Ogbogoh, An international speaker, a coach, a corporate trainer, a podcaster, and an author. A bit about my background, I have worked in project management for various corporate sectors; while working, I started a business on the side creating events for women to empower themselves and celebrate other women to stand up and shine. Then I became an NLP Practitioner and coach after using coaching and NLP to unlock my fear of public speaking. I started to speak on topics that I was passionate about, which focused on women stepping up and owning their power and giving them tools to get out of their own way. 

I am also an author, I was a part of the bestselling book “Success in High Heels”, a compilation book of 30 leading female authors, and I complied the book project titled “Born for This!” The Journey to Success in Life, Love & Business. I have recently released a brand-new e-book called “The 7 Habits That Rob Us of Our Power”, which focuses on the habits that stop women from owning their power, making an impact in their business or career.  

I fell into training after applying for a part-time tutor role for South Thames College, where I developed my training skills, and in 2018, I started delivering training for corporate clients. I am also a Podcast host; I have interviewed founders, owners, and coaches across the world who are using their skills to change the world for the better. My current podcast Shine Out Loud Show began in 2017, with a focus on interviewing creatives, owners and CEO’s from the BAME community to shine the light on their work and the impact they are making in the Uk and across the globe.

What inspired you to launch your business and what is the end goal?

What inspired me to launch my business was getting to a place in my career, in project management and feeling like something was missing. Feeling like there must be more to this. This cannot be it, even though I enjoyed the work that I was doing. I noticed a few things that I was dissatisfied with, feeling that the path to leadership was very challenging and sometimes none existent especially if you were from the BIPOC community, you found yourself doing things that were self-sabotaging and it felt like you just did not understand how to break into the inner cliques.  I noticed other women were feeling the same level of dissatisfaction in my circle and were looking for more. I started asking myself why and what is the missing factor, there must be more to this career life and having started the side business hosting empowering events for women, I got exposed to amazing women who were making an impact with their skills on their terms and I said I wanted to be part of that. 

After a few years of being coached and working with other coaches, I decided to take the plunge and become a coach myself. So, my business was about, why do we do what we do? And is there a way to make it better for women, in their career and personal lives? 

I was keen to look at what it is that gets in our way, looking at what makes us feel insecure and powerless. So, this is what inspired me to launch my coaching business.

What is the end goal? I wanted a business that is flexible enough that I can live and work from anywhere. I wanted to create a lifestyle which will grant me the freedom to give talks in different places, work from different locations, work with various clients across the globe and be able to make an impact, I want to live my life on my own terms.

What is the biggest lesson you have learnt so far as an entrepreneur?

The biggest lesson I have learned is if you are not prepared to take risks. Do not become an entrepreneur!  If you’re looking for a safe path or that your business will instantly support you when you begin you business you are in for a shock, if you start thinking you will go viral and be the darling and favourite of everyone overnight, and you will have all the support right off the back then, going into business is not for you. 

What I have learned about business is that you are going to get dirty, you are going to experience setbacks. But you are also going to learn how to be an entrepreneur. You’re going to learn what the books cannot teach you, and you are going to learn how to network, how to connect, how to negotiate, you’re going to discover all of this by doing, not just from reading. You are going to learn to get back up after facing another round of setbacks. So, I think the biggest lesson I learned is that you are going to have to jump in and get dirty.

What are your thoughts on failure?

The thing is when we were growing up and coming through school, the way we are taught is that failure is something to be ashamed of and if you failed, you are a failure.  Especially for me, being born in the UK, my parents then raised us in Nigeria.  Going through the educational system there that punished you for failing. If a teacher called you up to the front of the class to ask you a question, and you could not answer it, you were teased by your peers, and you also got punished physically. You become scared to fail, so, there was a correlation between failure, punishment, shame, and guilt for me growing up. 

However, I have come to have a different relationship with failure. Most people think, failure is the antithesis to success, it is not, failure comes before success. You cannot get to success without failure. And if you are not failing, it means that you are not trying anything new. You do not fail when you are Netflixing and chilling, you fail when you are doing something new, when you are learning something new. That means you are attempting to do something outside of your comfort zone. So, failure is necessary for our growth.

As a business owner, do you know when to walk away from a sale?

You have to start by asking yourself a couple of things yes we all, are in it to make the sale at the end of the day, we want the money because we need to be able to make our rent and all those essential things. However, if you know that you cannot honestly help that client, taking that client on board and they do not get the result they require, and you end up getting negative feedback and negative publicity, the money is not worth the hassle. Or, on the flip side, you know that this person is not someone you can work with this, or this collaboration is not going to be what it needs to be. You must be honest enough with yourself to say, Is this worth my time?  Is this worth my while more than just the money because money is one thing, money you can earn, but your reputation in ruins, your time is wasted, you can’t get your time back, and it takes a long time to repair your reputation. These are factors that will make me walk away from a sale.

Do you have a morning routine or ritual to get your day started on the right foot?

Now I want to tell you yes, I wake up every day and meditate and I write in my journal and do all of that. Sometimes I do, sometimes I do not. 😊 The things I do consistently are, a quick gratitude thing in the morning, where I scan through my body, and I wiggle my toes. I move my fingers, I smile at my body and I say, I am grateful that my body is whole and happy that is the first thing I do. I listen to audio on my phone, or I use my Alexa, to listen to some music, if I have the time before I do my affirmation for the day. I will listen to a chapter of a book on audible. Then, I do a quick stretch. I have become very mindful about starting my day, rather than just slamming into my day because it feels like I spend the whole day playing catch up. So even if it is just having a few moments in the morning to be grateful for waking up that day,  I listen to some music, I listen to meditative audio and enjoy stretching my body it doesn’t have to be a full-blown workout. The two things I know are constant for me now, are the gratitude scan and the affirmations.

What are your top tips for entrepreneurs wanting to get their business out there?

So, first things first, you cannot be the best-kept secret in your sector, in your field, in what you do. People have got to know you exist.  Which means you cannot be shy about getting out there, it means networking, reaching out and connecting. It means talking about what you do. And being visible does not just mean posting on social media for the sake of it. Pick a platform, pick one platform on social media and start building that up, which is what I am doing currently. As that is building up, share content that is a value add to your core market, your divine clients. 

The next thing is “give up” going alone. Because if you want to go far, you must go with others. Now, this is where you surround yourself with women and men who are smarter than you. Who can support your journey, you want people who can open doors for you, introduce you to others, you want people to collaborate with you. You want to start thinking about business as a pie and think, well, instead of just having a tiny slice. How can I tap into a bigger piece of that pie?

Then you want to start thinking about, who do you want to be in your industry?  In terms of how do you want to position yourself,  do you want to position yourself, as the Aldi’s of the world, or do you want to be the Sainsbury’s or Waitrose of the world, which then determines how you market your business. 

Then, be you! Not anybody else, be authentically you. This is about you, showing up as yourself. Yes, we get told to take on an avatar show up as. Imagine you were Michelle Obama when you walk in the room, but the thing is you are not, so you cannot be Michelle Obama take is taken. Be you! You must ask yourself; how do I want to show up in business? What does my authentic self look like? If you’re a person who in your life, you like to have fun and giggle, then don’t go into business and trying to be, what’s the word I’m looking for stuffy and stiff all day, because that’s not authentically you, you want to show up in your business as you are in your life. So, it is easier for you to be yourself

Any new product launches we should know about?

I have my brand-new eBook, which was released on the 21st of June, and it is called the Seven Habits that Rob Us of Our Power. The eBook looks at the seven habits that get in the way of women, showing up as the powerful beings that they are. Which stops us from reaching out to clients, it keeps us from applying for those stretch roles. These habits stop us from showing up as powerful women and keep us feeling powerless and afraid. I look at these seven habits and the fixes to break up with them. You can get the book via my website.

What is the single most important decision that you made, that contributed to your business?

I think the single most important decision that I made was asking for help. When I was struggling with being unable to speak in public, I turned to someone and asked for the help that I needed. And that put me on the journey of where I am today. Because if I did not ask for help. I would not have started my businesses, because I would not have gotten over my fear of speaking public. I would not have felt empowered enough to become a coach, and I would not have had the experiences I have had. I would not have spoken internationally or even thought about writing a book.

How did you conquer those moments of doubt that so often affect entrepreneurs or stop many with great ideas – what pushes you through?

I want to start out by saying that doubt happens; it happens to all of us. You are not alone. It has been a long uphill battle. The one thing I had to do was face my doubt and fear, and I had to do the internal work, the coaching around it, using my tools on myself. But the one thing I did is, I stopped listening to the voices in my head.  I stopped listening to, what I call the chimp committee, these are the negative self-talk that comes up and just runs you down. Then I decided to surround myself with powerful people, so that I had people I could lean on.  When I felt like I was coming apart at the seams, when I thought that that feeling of doubt was going to overtake me, I had people that would take my hand and reassure me of my value. And that is especially important, and I call that having a life team, because a life team is the difference between giving up or deciding to take a break and then being able to rise back up.

What’s the most important question entrepreneurs should be asking themselves?

I think the most important questions that an entrepreneur should be asking is “why”? as this will be backbone when times get tough

Why are you starting a business?

Why are you going down this road?

Why do you want to serve your target audience?

And followed by who do you have to become to be that business owner to achieve your goals?