Konnected Minds Podcast

From losing over a million dollars in a rice business gone wrong to understanding the brutal reality of predatory pricing and foreign dominance in Ghana's food import sector, and why the harsh truth about entering the rice business is that you can't just walk in with a hundred thousand dollars thinking it's easy money because the moment you show up with your shipment the established players who own 12 brands each will scrub their prices down to cost price and even below just to frustrate you out of the market selling rice at 200 cedis when it's impossible unless they didn't pay duty or got the rice for free, the entrepreneur who faces predatory pricing where competitors intentionally lose money just to keep new players out of the market cutting prices so low that first time importers are forced to sell below cost and lose their capital before eventually quitting the business allowing the big players to raise prices again and recover everything they lost kicking you out, the business owner who warns that 80% of rice importers in Ghana are foreigners from the Middle East India and Lebanon creating a serious concern about food security when the country's food supply of rice sugar and other imports are mainly in the hands of foreigners not because they're not helping the economy or providing jobs but because no Ghanaian businessmen can survive in an environment where the people in the companies are robbing Ghanaians themselves, the realization that these foreign business owners have been here for generations and actually have Ghanaian passports and speak Twi so fluently that if you don't see them and only hear them on the microphone you might think it's a Ghanaian speaking proving how deeply rooted they are in the system, the imported rice versus locally produced rice debate where imported rice is cheaper than locally produced rice because the cost of production in Ghana is so high and all borne by the farmer while in other countries the government provides machinery fertilizers tractors and combined harvesters for free as grants supporting their agribusiness, the farmer in Ghana who has to pay for the tractor buy gasoline rent the combined harvester plow the floor and bear all those costs alone ending up with a product that's not even as fine but still highly priced compared to imported rice making it impossible for any rational Ghanaian consumer to choose local when there's Ghanaian rice at an exhibition selling for 450 cedis while imported rice is way less, the thought of growing rice in Ghana that died after research showed it would result in losses because government promises to help the agri sector never come and friends who own farms in Volta region get no help and have to call for assistance just to sell their rice, the shocking data that the entire rice harvested in Ghana is not enough to feed the people of Greater Accra for two weeks yet people still complain about not having buyers because it's not about demand it's about pricing since farmers spent a lot of money to produce and are suffering, the solution that would affect a lot of importers but could work if the government pushes an agenda for 70% consumption of local produce and 30% importation but only if the government also supports the farmers because otherwise importers would just quit and switch to farming to gain from government support, the threat to the economy when the people who control how much food comes into Ghana are foreigners who are helping the economy yes but building theirs even better sending all the money back to their homes creating a situation where if they decide they're done and leave Ghana will go hungry. Host: Derrick Abaitey

From watching poor families struggle while having an awakening at 12 years old that no one is coming to save you to building six businesses before turning 30, and why the brutal truth about entrepreneurship is that if a thought makes you nervous it's worth pursuing because people who fear money don't get it and the things that scare you the most are exactly where your success is hiding waiting for you to be brave enough to reach for it, the young man who spent time with his grandmother selling beads in Fishy past learning that her generation would work regardless of conditions for five cedis a day to provide for their families while his father's generation would work but could switch jobs and his generation resigns when things get uncomfortable and Gen Z doesn't want to work at all, the first among six siblings who got an awakening around 12 or 13 years old realizing that no one was coming to save his family so while his siblings stayed home to play he would go with his grandmother to sell beads the waist beads and king beads that she made into chains and wrist beads, the grandson whose grandma was the one with the money in the family making beads but also having farms and animals like pigs and sheep that people would buy bringing income and always taking him along to sell teaching him the foundation of business, the pattern that grandmas and entrepreneurs share something special because those who spend time with grandma like him and others become business people proving there's something about that generation that understood work and sacrifice, the 18 year old missionary who spent two years on the streets of Lagos in Nigeria asking himself what next and didn't really believe so much in school because that's not the only way to get educated realizing school is just one of the best ways but not the only way, the young man who turned his Christian mission work into personal life lessons learning that if he could convince a stranger to leave their church and join a new church that was a big skill he could use in business and life, the philosophy that the thought that makes you nervous before you do it is exactly what you should do because that thought that comes to your mind that makes you think so much you get scared of it that is it go for it, the wisdom that if you're asking yourself questions about that thing that thought that has awakened you saying I need to do this I need to do that don't be scared because that thought you are scared of is where your success is, the shark mentality that if you are going for your dreams you are the shark of the ocean and sharks bite fishes but that doesn't mean they're bad sharks that's what they are destined to be they need to survive, the line between being the shark and being a bad shark which is going for what you want the right way by utilizing the resources in terms of people around you to get what you want but the right way, the connector who knows person A has something and person B needs that thing so he gets it from person A and gives it to person B making both happy but gaining more than each of them because that's how you conquer, the choice between being a shark or a shrimp in this world because shrimps get eaten so you have to decide which one you want to be, the business starter who had zero money when he started but just had a vision and a dream and got people to give him money that he wasn't even sure would be a success because he found out the problems people have and provided solutions, the problem solver who understands that someone's problem is they have a lot of money and don't know what to do with it so you go find a solution to that person's problem because a person who provides solutions to problems is a successful person, the reality that all the successful people in the world have always provided solutions to problems without actually using their own resources it's just people they provide a solution to the problem someone has. Host: Derrick Abaitey

From watching wealthy neighbors from a poor home where his father farmed and his mother sold grounded pepper and cassava in the markets to building a rice empire and multiple businesses before turning 30, and why the brutal truth about money is that most people fear it because they were taught to fear it growing up watching Nigerian movies where every rich person was portrayed as an occultist or ritualist making their parents restrict them from dreaming big but when you grow up as the poor child in the only proprietary school in your village walking to school while other kids get picked up in fancy cars you either become bitter or you watch the extremely wealthy neighbors in your backyard and study how they move and decide that fear will not control you, the young man who saw a million dollars in his personal account at 25 years old proving that when people say they made their first million it is real because he lived it and saw the money with his own eyes, the entrepreneur who came across a document of a shipment of rice from Vietnam to Ghana that he was never supposed to see and studied the numbers and something just hit him that this could be it, the founder and CEO of CH Rider Group who owns companies in transport and has his own rice brand and real estate companies building what is already a legacy before even turning 30, the first of six siblings and the first of two males who was taught humility through affliction because when you don't have money and you're surrounded by people who do you learn to value genuine friendship since every friend you made while you were young was actually a genuine friend because they weren't your friends because you had something they just trusted in you, the son whose parents made sure he and his brother got the best even though they were poor sending them to the only proprietary school in the village while his dad went to farm and his mom sold in the markets, the young boy who wasn't allowed to watch movies because his parents thought the Nigerian films showing ritualists and occults would affect them and make them think that's how you make money instilling fear of money in an entire generation, the different mind who watched rich people and their children and saw himself doing even better if he had the opportunity instead of being scared or bitter about the inequality, the man who believes money answers all things exactly like the Bible says and thinks every average person out there should not fear money but should command it because people who don't fear money have the will to control it and turn it into the way they want, the philosophy that if you're able to control money you can control anything so don't be scared of how much money or scared of money just know how to use it, the wisdom that a lot of people fear money and when you tell someone that thing costs a hundred thousand they say whoa and that's fear but he doesn't fear money because he knows if he had it he would know what to turn it into to even tenfold it, the realization that most of his generation were brought up from poor homes and were taught to fear money because their parents didn't have it and how they spoke of money made it seem like people who have money are probably superstitious ritualists or fraudsters or drug dealers limiting the young generation from knowing what to do if they come across money, the neighbor who lived just at the backyard with extremely wealthy people and watched their lives studying how success actually works instead of believing the narrative that money equals evil, the business owner who lost over a million US dollars in three months when rice disappeared with no revenue and no recovery putting the company in debt but didn't let that destroy him.

He built Ghana's most influential blog before the word "blogger" even existed. 20 years. No marketing team. No strategy. Just luck — and knowing when to say yes. But here's what nobody talks about: what happens when the content stops paying? In this episode of Konnected Minds, Derrick sits down with Ameyaw Debrah — Ghana's pioneer blogger, media entrepreneur, and founder of ameyawdebrah.com — for one of the most honest conversations about creative entrepreneurship you will hear this year. Ameyaw has spent 20 years at the centre of Ghana's entertainment and media industry. He launched Pulse Ghana, led YEN.com.gh, and built a personal brand that brands now come to — without him ever having to pitch. But behind the success is a story of calculated gambles, a father's dream that never got to be realised, a regret about ignoring an entire generation, and a very honest question: what is the plan when the content stops? This is not the regular success story. This is the real one.

From teaching English in Vietnam to importing rice worth over a million dollars in Ghana, and why the brutal truth about building trust is that you need to be brought up right where your yes is your yes and your no is your no but you also need to remember that your surroundings matter because you need to surround yourself with winners and listen to their problems and provide solutions to their problems so you can gain their trust, the young man who learned from his own personal experiences that every time you meet a new person you try to find their problem and figure out who they are so you can utilize the resources they have the right way making them happy while you gain more than them, the English teacher who moved from the Philippines to Vietnam in 2019 and met new people and made friends with a very big man in the country who introduced him to his father, a 65 year old General Director of Vietnamese government companies that had never employed any foreigner since its beginning and had never explored outside their territories, the confident young man who was asked what can you do and said I can take your company across Vietnam even though he didn't even know what he was talking about but had that confidence which led to the creation of an international commercial department where he was made the lead, the department head who started searching for whatever he could do for that company making deals and transacting internationally with South Korea and Japan bringing in multiple international deals and getting commission from the company every time, the 24 or 25 year old who made his first million dollars in his personal account proving that when people say they made their first million it is real because he lived it and saw the money with his own eyes, the entrepreneur who came back home thinking he could start something like Grab the Southeast Asian motorbike Uber service and registered a company called Ryder Group with a Y and built the app before realizing it's illegal to use motorcycles for commercial purposes in Ghana only for delivery of packages, the businessman who spent a lot of money from other people on the failed motorbike venture but his own money was still there so he reached back to those people and said we will not be allowed to operate because of this and they didn't pull back because of the trust they had, the employee who came across a document of a shipment of rice from Vietnam to Ghana that he was never supposed to see but took a peak and saw a whole vessel of rice shipment and studied the numbers and something just hit him that this could be it, the young man looking for a legacy that would send his name and make his family proud and help his community even though he had the option to relocate to Switzerland and give his money to a Swiss bank and stay and enjoy the dividends every quarter like his two friends who are currently there doing exactly that, the son who chose not to be selfish and go to Switzerland and forget about everything because he knew what he was coming from and knew the home he came from and knew he had a responsibility to his family and his neighbor and his community and his country, the importer who returned with his money and turned the company and updated the activities from the original plan to importation of general goods and sought the right paperwork to import stuff and did a market research before bringing in a heavy shipment over a million US dollars as the first shipment going all in. Host: Derrick Abaitey

From making hair oil for free on YouTube to building a thriving business with a standard black card and private banking, and why the brutal truth about self confidence is that loving yourself and believing in yourself makes people take certain risks that everybody selling includes you and includes people buying from you, the young woman who went through content creation stopping for six months when she wasn't getting gigs before coming back and continuing proving that giving up is not something you should consider easy because somebody is watching and somebody can relate with your content, the business owner who has never hired an influencer before because people come and post their own videos and reviews without being asked making her feel important when customers say oh my edges can come back again my hair can come back giving her something solid behind the content creator title, the entrepreneur who can now go into rooms and say I'm a content creator but I can handle business I've been doing this for five years and when business goes left right the foundation still stands, the first in person sale in March where people came to buy products and she made sales and people came to see her creating conversations that she's happy to show in rooms saying look at this picture this is all me and I did it in two weeks, the sense of belonging that comes from having a thriving business where you put this and this and this together and you're able to make something that gives you respect especially when it's a thriving business because when you have the influence people say oh she can influence and she has a business too, the standard black card holder with private banking who can now buy the basics she needs even though the luxury items require more thought proving that financial freedom comes in stages, the wisdom that if you feel like starting something grab that feeling and try because if you fail at least you know you tried and sometimes when you get that feeling grab it don't dismiss it try again and see because content creation for her went down she came back and tried again after six months of not getting gigs and she continued, the honest reflection that she's given up on certain things she wishes she had stayed consistent with so giving up is not something you should consider easy, the goal to give five or ten women 20,000 cedis each to start their business this year because she won 5,000 cedis from Sunlight when she was starting and got the opportunity to reach this point so now she wants to create opportunities for others, the young girls who can learn from her and the plan to help them pick themselves up because there's a real struggle and if 10 people every year set up businesses simply by listening to conversations like this in the next 50 years the country will be better because the government can't do all the job and individual people need to build businesses and employ people, the products that make people give reviews without being asked creating hope that edges can come back and hair can grow back making the business owner feel like her work matters beyond just making money. Guest: Princess Ama Burland Host: Derrick Abaitey

From knowing she would be rich without knowing how to becoming one of Ghana's most recognized influencers who treats life like a movie where she's the main character, and why the brutal truth about growing up with a Muslim mother who let you walk around without covering your head and never forced you to become a lawyer is that when you come from a home where conversations are balanced and there's no shame in saying I don't want rice today or I don't think this way, you grow up so confident in yourself that even when brands are bullying you online about your body and the comments are tearing you apart, the head of a major company sees that same post and thinks you're perfect to represent them because empathy works in mysterious ways and sometimes your lowest moment becomes the exact reason someone decides to give you a life changing opportunity, the young girl who lived a simple life where nothing really appealed to her and being a lawyer didn't make sense and being a doctor never crossed her mind because she's a soft girl and the only career she ever considered was being an air hostess because it looked nice and you get to travel, the daughter who could have any conversation in this world with her mother and there's no topic too crazy or too wild because her mom listens and takes time to understand why you think the way you think which is why they'll make food for everybody in the house but won't cook rice for her because it's not by force that she has to eat rice, the confident woman who thinks the way she thinks and if you don't agree that's fine because somebody will say something different and that's just how life works when you grow up in a home where your thoughts are valued and you're not being told don't do this it's like this without room for discussion, the sister from her mother's side who along with all her siblings are very open minded and very able to communicate because that's just how they were raised and it shows in how her auntie and her children also have that same great bond where conversations flow freely, the student who was forced to go to school one day even though she said she didn't want to go and a car knocked her down and the next week her leg was swollen and this whole place melted and her mother was so sad saying oh my God I shouldn't have forced her to go to school which is part of the reason but not the whole reason why her mom became even more understanding, the young woman who always knew she would be rich but just didn't know how because she has this feeling that life is a movie and she's part of the main character so things will always go well for her even if she's going through the worst things, the positive mindset that even when people were bullying her online because she said she brought a package and the comments were just people putting her in, she went for a life changing meeting and one of the heads said I know you I saw when they brought you the package and the comments were tearing you apart and he still found her fit to represent them, the philosophy that even if there's something bad it's building up to something good because the bullying she has gone through has made it easier for her to gain opportunities from people who feel empathy for what she's experienced, the realization that if you keep hitting her like in boarding school where you hit hit hit hit at first it hurts but then it starts feeling numb and you don't feel it again because that's how life works when people keep saying you are this you are this you are this you are this and she realizes it's not really affecting her life in a negative way, the wisdom that the only thing that can affect her life in a negative way is if she actually does something wrong because as long as she has not done anything wrong you can't hold anything against her it's just your feelings about her but not the feeling about what she's supposed to achieve. Host: Derrick Abaitey

From stumbling into influencing in 2019 without even knowing what content creation was to building two businesses on the back of social media attention, and why the brutal truth about being an influencer is that you can't be popular forever because your time will pass and younger people will be more vibrant and more in tune with the culture than you are which is why you have to find something that works for you when you're sleeping and when people don't see your face, the young woman who got paid 800 cedis in 2019 to post bags for a brand thinking it was the biggest deal of her life before realizing people actually get paid serious money for this and she could step up her pricing and start talking to brands properly, the reality that influencing can be very dicey and you can lose it at any moment which is why she doesn't even know how she's been relevant from 2019 till now because usually some people are just there for some months and then they are gone, the wisdom that the moment you get that people are looking at you, you have to find something and put the influence inside otherwise you can't be an influencer forever because it's not possible to have that hold on people forever, the honest truth that just like footballers can't play for the rest of their lives and will retire, influencers also have to retire because you can't be popular for the rest of your life, the blessing of being lucky enough to be an influencer for 10 years which is a long time for people's attention to be on you and within that 10 years you should be able to build something so when you're telling your children that you were popping you can also tell them what you did within that 10 years, the biggest challenge being that she's an on the spot thinker who never asks what questions will be asked in interviews and can't write scripts because she works better in the moment looking at products and deciding what will work better but sometimes that doesn't work with some brands who want you to script it or have their own storyline which becomes difficult because it's not just bad for the brand it's bad for her brand as well when a post gets 50,000 views instead of her usual 500,000 views, the mixed reality that not every brand takes influencing seriously but some brands do and right now they are starting to take influencers seriously because it's better now than when they started in 2019 as brands are starting to understand the power that social media has as compared to traditional media, the fight that one influencer has to say this one I'm taking 10,000 so the next person doesn't settle for 5,000 which reminds her of the type of work Shatta Wale had to do fighting for musicians in the country to get what they deserve, the lack of unity in the influencing business because nobody wants to start that conversation after she went to an interview three years ago and mentioned she was paid 5,000 cedis for a brand to help other people coming up know what to expect and everybody said she was lying so now who wants to have the conversation when somebody tried and people put them down, the reality that people are afraid of sellouts because if they all agree to something somebody will go for less like it has happened to her before, the country where people don't like to talk about finances or give figures but she feels like it's a realistic conversation to know what to expect in the real world like if you have 500,000 followers how much is a good amount or a range so people know what to expect, the disagreement that influencing is oversaturated because anybody can be an influencer just like the number of lawyers that are competing or doctors so why is influencing oversaturated when brands just need to know who they want to pick.

From getting slapped by a teacher in class one and walking home alone because the school bus left to becoming one of Ghana's most recognized influencers building two businesses on the internet, and why the brutal truth about growing up protected is that when your sister is ready to slap someone for letting a child walk home alone after being punished for not having a book and your mother gives birth to you at 37 making you the patient baby with siblings in their 40s who became like three mothers watching over you, that protection keeps you from going out and socializing but it also fills your childhood with so much love that you grow up naturally being a people person even when you don't make actual friends until senior high school, the young girl who went to about 10 junior high schools before completing at Maranatha International School because when a teacher lashed her and made her stay to sweep the compound in class one she had to walk the distance from American House to Ars Road alone proving that moving schools wasn't just about her sister's protection it was about finding safety, the only child between her Ghanaian mother and Scottish father who discovered she had step siblings when she overheard a conversation in GHS one but calls them siblings not step siblings because the bond is that close even though she grew up with her mother's children and her father's children have their own mother and most of them are not in Ghana, the daughter whose father left for the UK when she was very young and didn't come back until she was already in her teens which means the relationship she has with him is based on respect and looking just like him in pictures but it's not the same as the jokes and freedom she feels around her mother who she lived with her whole life, the student who was always first to fifth position growing up and never took exams seriously because good grades came naturally until she went to St. Joseph senior high school in Legon and got 10th position for the first time which shocked her into stepping up and picking back up her performance, the psychology and information studies graduate who studied at Legon but doesn't really use her degree for anything even though people talk to her a lot and call her a lot making her think maybe she should tap into that psychology training because clearly people see something in her, the girl who didn't know what she wanted to become growing up and only thought about being an air hostess when she got to senior high school before changing her mind again proving she never had a fixed vision of the future, the naturally friendly person who could vibe with everybody in school but that doesn't mean you're my friend because being loved by everyone doesn't mean you let everyone in, the protected child who wasn't allowed to go out and socialize which she appreciates now even though she didn't see why back then because that same protection kept her safe and loved and surrounded by family who made sure she never felt alone, the last born whose big sister is 41 or 42 right now and another sister in her 40s creating this situation where she had like two mothers or three mothers all making sure she was protected and loved and never lacked anything, the young woman who made amazing friends at the end of senior high school like Frida and Pre Lakani and others she's still friends with today even though in the beginning she was just there not really making friends just existing in the space, the influencer who people keep saying the industry is over saturated but she doesn't think so because the problem with Ghanaians is everybody wants to be a food content creator everybody wants to do lifestyle when there are so many other content ideas like being unemployed that can also be content, the entrepreneur with two businesses who uses content to push all of them because she knows her brand can influence people to buy her products but also understands you can't be an influencer for the rest of your life because your time will pass, the young girl whose childhood was just love and protection and getting lashed in school and being taken out of schools because her family wouldn't tolerate disrespect, the woman who is here to inspire people with her story especially the young girls and boys who look up to her showing them that you can actually build business on the internet while creating content that you love. Guest: Princess Ama Burland Host: Derrick Abaitey

From posting underwear on day two after wanting to end her life to selling out 10 bottles of hair oil in 30 minutes on day three, and why the brutal truth about building a business from rock bottom is that sometimes your darkest moment becomes the exact turning point where you realize you have to create something for yourself because when a scandal video drops and you're ready to give up but someone reaches out wearing a hoodie to sit with you while you cry and tells you what's there to care about, that shift in perspective can change everything, the young woman who went to a scandal that made her want to kill herself when a video was posted and blogs were talking and people were judging but one person reached out and hung out with her and wore a hoodie and kept her company showing her that someone cared when she felt completely alone, the sister who sells underwear that she posted on day two after the scandal because she had to do something and couldn't just sit there drowning in shame, the hair oil she had been making for free and posting the full process on YouTube without any intention to sell because she was just sharing her personal recipe that people kept asking for, the decision on day three to make something from this for herself by putting the oil she had already made into bottles with no labels just 10 bottles total even though she posted that she had 100 pieces, the 10 bottles that sold out in 30 minutes making people think 100 bottles got finished in 30 minutes proving that even in your lowest moment people are ready to support you if you give them something real, the shy kid who had aunties in the extended family saying this girl when she goes to school this and that making her mother worried and causing relatives to call saying your daughter is doing this this this all because she was always on her phone, the phone that got seized because family members were complaining but that same phone became the reason she's being invited on podcasts and building businesses, the realization that being loved and having the basics like school fees paid and weekly money given doesn't mean you can afford the fancy stuff in life because her mom lost her business when she was in class six going to Togo and China and having goods seized at the port, the mother who sold all her cars and didn't have a car at some point but made sure her daughter never noticed the struggle until senior high school because she still provided at least two meals a day and paid school fees, the advantage of not having to think about paying school fees or taking care of nephews which meant she could focus on building something to move from being average to being comfortable, the weekly money of 150 cedis compared to someone else getting 1000 cedis and the desire to make her own money so she could buy the nice dress and the jewelry without waiting for someone else to provide it, the people she had to prove wrong in the extended family who were pointing fingers saying she's always on her food always quiet always on Snapchat questioning what's going on with this girl, the determination that came from wanting her mother to be proud of her and wanting to show those aunties and relatives that they were wrong about her, the wisdom that happy home and being loved doesn't mean you have money for fancy stuff and the basics being covered is already an advantage that should be used to build something real, the depression she felt at times realizing maybe it was because she couldn't afford certain things and how money really solves a lot of problems even though people say money isn't everything. Host: Derrick Abaitey

He started with GH₵1,000, lost two houses, a container of cars, and millions - and still built one of Ghana's most recognised real estate brands. In this episode of Konnected Minds, I sit down with Ebenezer Saka Addo-Mensah - CEO and founder of Saka Homes and owner of five other businesses - or one of the most unfiltered conversations we've ever had on this podcast. No fluff. No rehearsed answers. Just the raw truth about what it actually takes to build wealth in Ghana from nothing.

From accidentally building an influencer brand on Snapchat to creating a hair care business that started with just 50 cedis and bottles, and why the brutal truth about being an influencer is that you can't be popular forever because your time will pass and younger people will be more vibrant and more in tune with the culture than you are which is why you have to find something that works for you when you're sleeping and when people don't see your face, the young woman who didn't even know what content creation was in 2019 when she had followers and got paid 800 cedis to post bags for a brand thinking it was the biggest deal of her life, the photoshoot with a big company that opened her eyes to the fact that people actually get paid for this and she could step up her pricing and start talking to brands properly, the COVID lockdown that kept everyone home watching her YouTube channel where she changed from just doing hair tutorials to showing her personality making people find her funny and creating clips and memes that made her sort of blow up, the hair oil she was making and using herself that people kept asking for until she finally gave in and started pouring her personal oil into bottles to sell even though she was a student who didn't mean to do business, the pre orders that came in because the oil takes time to make and the realization that just oil wasn't enough so she went to school to learn formulations and expanded into shampoos and deep conditioners and a full product line, the Okada bike her brother trusted her with that she sold after realizing transport service business wasn't her field and put the money back into the business, the Sunlight Shero competition where she won 5000 cedis by writing about her business proving that opportunities come when you're building something real, the wisdom that you can't be an influencer for the rest of your life because people like Nana Ama McBrown who are still relevant are rare cases and most people will eventually be replaced by someone younger, the meeting where brands were looking for artists who appeal to younger people instead of the top three musicians everyone already knows proving that relevance is temporary and you have to build something that works when people aren't looking at your face, the advice that if you're an influencer you should start an agency or find a nine to five or create something that infuses your influence into a business that keeps running even when you're on vacation for a month because influencing can be very dicey and you can lose it at any moment, the honest reflection that she doesn't even know how she's been relevant from 2019 till now because usually people are just there for some months and then they're gone, the reality that you can't be popular forever and it's not possible to have that hold on people forever just like footballers can't play for the rest of their lives they will retire, the blessing of being an influencer for 10 years which is a long time to have people's attention and should be used to build something real so when you're telling your children that you were popping you can also tell them what you did with that 10 years, the biggest challenge being that she's an on the spot thinker who never asks what questions will be asked in interviews and doesn't like to write scripts because she works better in the moment looking at products and deciding what will work better but sometimes that doesn't work with some brands who need structure and preparation. Host: Derrick Abaitey

From making over 20,000 cedis in the first 24 hours on Snapchat to losing an Amazon account because demand was too high to fulfill, and why the brutal truth about explosive business growth is that it can destroy you faster than slow growth ever could because when 100 orders flood in on day one and your supplier quits after 24 hours saying it's too stressful and you're scrambling to find packaging bottles and labeling and responding to customers who trusted you with their money while overselling products you don't have in stock because you didn't have a website to track inventory, the young woman who never started as the average business person selling one or two orders a day but instead jumped straight into chaos with hundreds of orders before she even understood how to apologize to customers or handle delivery delays or navigate the pressure of 20 people being disappointed because the delivery service failed, the early skincare business that shut down completely after one customer left African black soap on her face for 15 minutes instead of one minute and said the product burned her skin sending the business owner into panic mode because at that point she knew nothing about business and couldn't live with the thought that somebody used her product and damaged their face, the wisdom that being popular too fast means you don't know what to do with yourself just like when a business booms too quickly you haven't built the structure or understood your flaws or learned how to delegate which is why she spent two years not making any money because she was too busy learning how to survive the explosion, the decision to hire somebody to reply to Instagram messages just one year into the business because the pressure of responding to everyone and worrying if the way she spoke would make them come back again was eating her alive, the realization that she doesn't work well under pressure and would rather delegate the pressure to someone else so she can focus on production and school while getting a report at the end of the week instead of seeing every customer complaint in real time, the Amazon experiment where she listed products at the lowest price without even calculating profit margins and came back on Monday to over 200 dollars in sales but lost the account because she couldn't meet demand and stock wasn't coming in and she didn't have enough money to buy more inventory, the philosophy that no opportunity is too small to make something out of and people make the most out of the smallest opportunities so no matter what you get try your best to put value to it because that's what keeps you going, the critical lesson that you have to kiss your customers and lay down for them as a business person even when delivery services embarrass you in front of 20 people and you're begging and apologizing and finding solutions because one thing about her is she'll be sad but she will find a solution, the blessing that nobody called her out during those chaotic early days which she credits to God's favor and the consideration from customers who knew she wasn't a scammer because she showed her face and built trust with her followers before the chaos started, the decision to stop taking pre orders completely and only sell products that are physically in stock because she learned the hard way that you can't rely on suppliers who might embarrass you especially when products are coming from abroad. Guest: Charity Boateng (Femlas Founder) Host: Derrick Abaitey

From building Ghana Party in the Park for 20 years without corporate support to losing deals worth millions when artists failed to show up, and why the brutal truth about building a legacy in UK entertainment is that you compete against your own people wasting money you don't have when you could have worked smarter together, the man who ran events that became institutions but never got the corporate backing that Ghanaian promoters in Ghana receive from telcos and banks because the Ghanaian community in the UK is a very small percentage, the 100 percent openness to partnership that brought smiles when Western Union and MoneyGram sponsored events wishing they had done even more because that support validated the work being done, the conversation with his friend David that hit hard about how a lot of us don't like systems thinking we just like to do things and sometimes it looks like ego, the church example where the usher says sit here and you start looking funny because you spotted somewhere you want to sit but for the church and the usher she's thinking this will align with the camera position proving we don't like systems thinking, the fear of change that held him and others back when change is good and change is necessary for growth, the Bissakele show at the Forum in London that sold tickets at incredible speed but could have been twice as big if the venue choice was better, the 696 form system that forced black event promoters to assess every DJ and attendee because of knife culture and fighting at clubs putting everyone in one bracket and making it harder to book certain venues, the Scala venue in King's Cross that said no they don't want to do a black event forcing him to find the next alternative when over 200 people were left outside while inside was jam packed proving they could have filled a space twice that size, the mistakes made that he's learned from because you've got to be able to make mistakes to correct them and life you could always do better, the recounting of what he would have done better including getting more people involved in the work and having better understanding with artists he worked with because some of them were personal friends who don't need to speak to you anymore because things didn't go their way, the money wasted by competing against promotional partners like Aloudia, West Coast, DJ Abramship, and Stuk DJs when there were times they had about three events on the same night and could have done one big event instead, the ego and pride that stopped them from working smarter alongside the reality that competition is healthy but if he thinks about it now they could have done better which they are correcting by working closely together now, the discussion about Ghana Party in the Park becoming like Wireless Festival which he 100 percent agrees with but the business decision of whether to take Ghana out of the title when 80 percent of the niche market was the Ghanaian community, the offer that came in 2020 where he was happy to take away the Ghana from the title and had COVID not come in it would still not be Ghana Party in the Park it would have been a different title, the reality that everything he does is Ghana related and maybe that's wrong of him but that's the foundation he built, the wisdom that Ghana starts a lot of things but doesn't own it and somebody else takes it better and he's part of the system that got it wrong, the experience working with legend Daddy Lumba who was very difficult to work with doing three shows successfully in the UK before the fourth show where Daddy Lumba called just days before to say he's not coming just like that with no fault of the promoter, the heavy loss already made at that time with tickets sold and people ready to attend Guest: Dennis Tawiah (Aqualva UK Founder) Host: Derrick Abaitey

From being dismissed at radio stations and turned away from nightclubs to paving the way for African music on mainstream UK platforms and creating the Diaspora Ghana movement that now defines an entire generation's connection to the motherland, and why the brutal truth about building something revolutionary is that the people who come after you and benefit from your groundwork will often refuse to give you credit while calling you lazy when they weren't there getting rejected, getting told African music doesn't belong, getting sent away from venues that now welcome African artists with open arms because of the foundation you laid brick by brick, the man who genuinely believes his contributions to Diaspora Ghana gave birth to what it is today because he was doing this when Ghana had no nightlife scene and year after year since 1999 he brought the confidence and belief that made it fashionable to return home during the holidays, the opportunities given to DJs in Ghana when nobody wanted to be associated with UK Diaspora events but suddenly when Aquavis became cool everyone wanted to be on the bill and follow the movement, the nightlife scene that kept growing with nightclubs like Faisal and Boomerang coming through creating an infrastructure that didn't exist before, the contribution to getting African music played on mainstream radio that broke the camel's back when 80 percent of lyrics had to be in English before songs could be played forcing him to do research and find tracks like Wale's Sweet Dreams that had enough English to slip through the gatekeepers, the Francophone music from Awilo Longomba, Magic System, and Koffi Olomide that wasn't being played on mainstream radio at the time proving the barriers were real and intentional, the cheap shot from a Nigerian promoter who called Ghanaian promoters lazy when he wasn't there during the struggle getting told your African music doesn't belong here, getting turned away from nightclubs, going to record labels and venues and getting rejected over and over until it finally became fashionable, the credit given to Nigerian promoters like Solomon Savage who put on incredible R&B shows with Mary J. Blige and Jodeci and Keith Sweat, DJ Abbas, KC, and Kokobar who played a major role in the scene but doesn't get enough recognition either, the Nigerian corner venues like Black Knight and Club 419 that created space for the culture when nobody else would, the disappointment in a fellow promoter who has been gifted with numbers and brilliant artists and connections but instead of encouraging the next generation chooses to punch down and dismiss the Ghanaian promoters who invested their own private money to build the foundation he's now standing on, the reality that this promoter wasn't there when they were being sent away from radio stations, wasn't there struggling to get African music played from 4am to 2am to midnight and sticking through the rejection until the doors finally opened, the acknowledgment that yes this promoter works with Ghanaian artists and helps them break boundaries which is good for the culture and should be celebrated, the wisdom that taking it to the next level is beautiful but dismissing what's been done before is where the problem lies, the name that's never been in the story even though flights were being booked to Ghana and movements were being created and foundations were being laid, the reality that a lot of people don't want to give credit where it's due and a lot of promoters and DJs came through what he established and contributed towards but refuse to acknowledge the paving of the way. Host: Derrick Abaitey

From being 19 years old with no job, no university plans, and no vision beyond renting out sound equipment to becoming a household name in UK entertainment, and why the brutal truth about youth and ambition is that sometimes you're just going with the flow making money as a DJ and loving the popularity without thinking about buying houses or saving for the future when you should have been putting money away instead of spending everything on more records and more equipment, the four young Ghanaian boys who pooled their sound equipment together and created what would become 90% Hair Squad starting with just turntables, mixers, microphones, and producer setups, the transition from renting equipment to Acid House promoters at warehouses in King's Cross to becoming DJs themselves putting on their own events, the 19 year old living at his parents' house with no job while his friends Mr. Trips and Mr. Schuchs worked at John Lewis and Moscom produced music, the parents who never turned against him even though his football dream was shattered at 14 and he chose not to pursue university because it just wasn't meant for him, the four Ghanaians who grew to six when Ash and DJ Branch joined creating a collective that played R&B, Ragga, Jungle, Swing Beat, Miami Bass, and went up against legendary household names like Rampage, Boogie Bunch, Tim Westwood, David Rodigan, and David Pearce, the African community and specifically the Ghanaian community that was super proud of these young boys and embraced them when the Caribbean entertainment scene shut them out at every establishment they tried to enter, the African Caribbean Societies at universities like Brunel, Coventry, and Kingston that played a key role in booking 90% for events, the decision to do their first event together called Ghana Independence in 1992 at Shinola's Night Club where Westfield Stratford now stands, the collaboration with Sambike, DJ Francis, and Big Joe from Nakasi Records who was shipping records from Ghana and distributing them to various shops, the first Ghana Independence event that drew 4,000 Ghanaians filling three massive areas proving these young DJs had tapped into something powerful, the 19 to 20 year old who was so happy just playing music and renting out equipment that he didn't see the future or think about change, the mini celebrity status that came with popularity in the community where they all wore matching 90% jackets and t-shirts and people were calling them everywhere, the money he was making as a DJ that should have been saved or invested in property like other young people his age who were moving out of London to buy homes in Essex and Stevenage, the many mistakes made spending everything on buying more records and more equipment instead of putting money away, the young man whose dream was shot down when he wanted to be a footballer and never recovered another dream after that, the parents who would back him to the grave and never turned against him because he didn't do well in school proving unconditional support even when the path wasn't traditional, the reality that to be a footballer in the UK you had to go through the system young and once you got dropped there was no way back in unless you played non-league football and got spotted like Ian Wright who was discovered by Crystal Palace, the house parties and events that built the foundation for what would become a movement in UK African entertainment, the four young Ghanaian boys who became a household name in UK entertainment by just playing music to Ghanaians and then expanding to the entire African community who gripped onto what they were building. Host: Derrick Abaitey

From getting a license to play African music on mainstream UK radio in 1997 to creating the December in Ghana movement that transformed the diaspora's relationship with the motherland, and why the brutal truth about building cultural movements is that you don't just wake up and decide to change how an entire generation sees coming home because it takes years of getting rejected at 4am graveyard shifts on radio stations, years of proving African music belongs on mainstream platforms, years of convincing nightclubs to welcome the culture you're fighting to legitimize, years of chartering planes and teaming up with radio stations like VibeFM and nightclub owners like Tiki Bonsing and Duke Bonsing to create a nightlife infrastructure that didn't exist before you arrived, the six young Ghanaian boys from 90% who kept on knocking on doors until they got hold of a license for North London on Choice FM proving persistence breaks down barriers that seem impossible, the demo tape from 90% his core Choice affair that he still has today as proof of the journey from being told African music doesn't belong to becoming the representation of African music on mainstream radio, the call from Wayne Tanning within 24 hours saying you've got the job come start playing music on Choice which meant selecting three members Moscom, Mr Shooks, and DJ Branch to be the face of Choice while the other three supported from behind, the introduction of DJ Branch to Choice FM through 90% which gave birth to the platform he would eventually take to the next level with the Afro Beat Show, the graveyard shift from 4am to 6am when everybody's asleep that slowly moved to 2am to 4am then midnight to 4am then midnight to 2am proving they were gaining attraction and regular time slots, the credit given to DJ Branch for sticking to it and taking the show from where they started to where he elevated it because you have to give people their flowers when they execute and push through, the birth of Aqualva in 2001 after 90% decided to go separate ways with Mr Trips still producing music, Moscom doing legendary work, Mr Shooks being one of the best MCs in the jungle scene, Blackhash on Choice during the Afro Beat Show, and DJ Branch doing his thing, the conversation with close friend and partner Cliff and the Puku deciding to do an event together without even knowing what to call it until two or three days before when they landed on Aqualva because everything about him has always been Ghana and the first sign you see getting off the plane at the old airport is Aqualva, the six Ghanaian guys who set up Aqualva including Emilio from West Coast, right hand man Eben designed to take him to Jump Promotions, DJ Fire, and Eben's brother creating another collective that would shape UK African entertainment, the realization during the Aqualva era that there was a sense of belonging and it became so cool to be African with massive turnouts at any Ghana event proving the Gen Zs of that time were ready for community and representation, the decision to change the narrative and bring it back home after experiencing being flown out to places like Tenerife, Ibiza, and Greece to DJ at events and seeing the nightlife scene over there realizing he could introduce that to Ghana, the punishment narrative in the diaspora where being sent back to Ghana was used as a threat when you did something wrong creating fear in young people who would rather run away from home than face going back. Guest: Dennis Tawiah (Aqualva UK Founder) Host: Derrick Abaitey

From 600 cedis & an MTN loan to running TWO bakeries - Samuel's story will change how you think about opportunity. Samuel Agyapong (Banana Bread GH) joins Derrick on Konnected Minds to break down why Ghana's youth are losing to social media, how he built an entire business off Instagram without traveling abroad, and the hard truth about hiring staff that most business owners ignore.

From being a 12 year old boy crying in London who just wanted to go home to becoming the man who made December in Ghana a cultural phenomenon for the diaspora, and why the brutal truth about building a legacy is that your name gets erased from the story even though you were there getting rejected by radio stations when 80 percent of lyrics had to be in English before African music could touch mainstream airwaves, getting turned away from venues that now welcome the culture you fought to legitimize, investing your own money into events that became institutions while watching others take credit for the movement you helped birth, the young boy from Osu whose father was a barrister lawyer and former chairman of Accra Hearts of Oak who moved all 14 siblings to the United Kingdom for political reasons without even telling him he was leaving, the 12 year old playing for youth football teams Habo City and Karakim Faisa who thought he had a real chance to become a professional footballer in Ghana until his sister told him to take a bath because they were going out and the next thing he knew he was landing at Heathrow Airport scared and confused riding the underground for the first time in his life, the child who cried most of the time in those early days because he left his friends behind and didn't know what he was going into when all he wanted was to play football and be back home where life made sense, the father who was calm and supportive even when school reports came back showing his son wasn't attending because he was spending his time elsewhere chasing a dream that didn't fit the traditional path, the man who created Aqualva UK and Miss Ghana UK and helped shift the entire mindset of Ghanaians in the diaspora to see coming home in December not as punishment but as something cool and fashionable, the pioneer who was in rooms with record labels and radio stations and pluggers breaking down barriers so African music could finally get played when the gatekeepers said it didn't belong, the promoter who ran Ghana Party in the Park for 20 years without fail building a brand so big that generations of people who came through his events are now at Sony Music and major positions across the industry, the devastating loss of 40,000 pounds in 2023 when an artist failed to show up even after interventions and phone calls and people who bought tickets were left disappointed, the contributions to Diaspora Ghana that gave birth to what it is today because he was doing this when Ghana had no nightlife scene and year after year since the late 90s he brought the confidence and belief that made it fashionable to return home during the holidays, the name that's never been in the story even though he was there in the struggle getting rejected and told African music doesn't belong here, the 14 siblings who all made it to the United Kingdom not just to survive but to get education and opportunities because their father fought for each and every one of them, the relationship he has with his own children today that reflects wanting to be a better version of the father he looked up to so much, the young boy who never wanted anything but to be a footballer living near the stadium in Osu watching matches daily and playing coos football with local teams chasing him before everything changed with one bath and one trip that took him away from the only life he knew. Guest: Dennis Tawiah (Aqualva UK Founder Host: Derrick Abaitey

From dropping out of school at 14 to chase a football dream that ended in rejection to becoming a DJ and sound equipment entrepreneur in London's underground Acid House scene, and why the brutal truth about immigrant life in the UK during the 80s and 90s is that there were no community hangouts, no Ghanaian restaurants, no nightclubs for us because that generation was focused on working morning cleaning jobs and nursing shifts just to send money back home not building the infrastructure we enjoy today, the young boy who moved from chip shop to chip shop and arcade to arcade only showing up to school during lunchtime to play football because everybody wanted him on their side, the father who wrote letters to Arsenal, QPR, and every major London football club to get his son trials even though he had 14 children to care for, the coldest winter of 1986 when his father stood outside from 8am to 6pm in just a jacket watching his son trial at Queensborough proving that even with 14 siblings this father found time for each and every one of them, the devastating moment at 14 years old when Mr. Tom Wally called him into the office and said the journey ends here after two years on a Youth Training Scheme form, the young teenager who wasn't old enough to understand the weight of rejection and still believed another chance would come somewhere else because he was that good of a footballer, the transition from football to working at McDonald's and doing paper runs for seven pounds a week delivering newspapers in freezing cold mornings while still finding money to buy records, the freedom of being 14 to 18 with no responsibilities, no bills to pay, no mobile phones to worry about, no pressure to send money back home just pure freedom to exist without the weight of adulthood, the complete disconnect from friends back in Ghana with no contact until he returned years later because that's just how life was without technology connecting continents, the musical equipment he started buying with his McDonald's money not because he had a plan or vision but because he grew up in Suame surrounded by two nightclubs where music played every single night shaping his love for sound, the realization that there was nothing for young black people to do in London except youth clubs, hanging out on the streets, going to church with parents, or attending funerals because the immigrant generation wasn't building community spaces they were surviving and sending money home, the friend Moscom who changed everything by teaching him to DJ after he saw the technics turntables, the son lab mixer, the microphone, and the full producer setup that made him say teach me I want to be a DJ, the formation of a sound equipment collective that started with four Ghanaian guys and grew to six pooling all their equipment together to rent out for parties and events, the Acid House music scene that was driving the UK crazy with promoters renting empty warehouses in places like Barley Studios in King's Cross needing equipment for the biggest underground movement of that era, the 11th child out of 14 siblings who all somehow made it to the United Kingdom not just to survive but to get education and opportunities that seemed impossible, the father who fought for each and every one of his 14 children making sure they all had a chance even when the odds were stacked against them, the beautiful memories of a time when freedom meant no responsibilities and life was about playing football, delivering newspapers in the cold, working at McDonald's, and dreaming about what could come next without the pressure of knowing what that next step should be. Host: Derrick Abaitey

From not owning the stories and contributions that built the UK African music scene to losing millions when COVID forced event cancellations and why the brutal truth about going with the flow without being intentional is that other people end up taking credit for your work while you watch your children learn your legacy from strangers instead of from you, the man who pioneered African music on mainstream UK radio and created events that became institutions but never documented his role in the movement, the cassette tapes he showed his son who had never seen one before using a pen to rewind it teaching lessons about how far they've come and how much has changed, the regret of not owning a lot of the history because when you look at Zemba or the movements happening right now people think it started with someone's return but there was a group of people who started this and they should have documented it but they didn't, the children he feels he let down because they don't really know his story and it takes other people to tell them when he's never been the type to go around talking about himself but life has taught him you've got to speak up, the beautiful family this unplanned path has given him and how his kids are now seeing what he did and his peers are telling him he needs to speak up and own half of what Africans in the UK are enjoying right now because in a few years nobody will know what they went through, the contributions to getting African music played on mainstream radio which broke the camel's back that people don't know about, the mistakes made because he was just going with the flow and the cost of not being intentional because somebody else comes into the story and other people take the credit and other people tell you that you've been lazy, the 90 percent of conversations and rooms he's been in from record label rooms to radio stations to pluggers that never translated to support for his company or his events, the Ghana Party in the Park brand that ran for 20 years without fail even when others fell and the very good offer on the table in January before COVID came in March and destroyed the deal, the generations of people who came through Ghana Party in the Park who are now at Sony Music and big positions in the industry and how he sees ex patrons everywhere in high positions who all came through his events, the disappointment of not getting rich from Ghana Party in the Park because it's a big brand, a very very big brand that deserved more, the business cap he didn't put on early enough because he matured very late and maturity came to him very late but now he's surrounded by good people like his partner DJ Mensa in Ghana bringing brilliant ideas, the Ghanaian businesses at the time who weren't comfortable with the entertainment scene even in Ghana before telcos like MTN and Vodafone had to invest heavily into Ghanaian music, the shout out to Charter House for what they were doing with Ghana Music Awards and how when corporate came in you saw the beauty of what they were doing, the love for what corporate is doing especially in Ghana with Charter House and iGo House doing Tidal Rave and how banks and drinks companies and telco companies are getting involved but in the UK they don't get that because the Ghanaian community is a very small percentage, the 100 percent openness to partnership and the smile that came from sponsorship from Western Union and MoneyGram at the time wishing they had done even more, the friend David who said something that hit him about how a lot of us don't like systems thinking we just like to do things and sometimes it looks like ego, the example of walking into a church and the usher says sit here and you start looking funny because you spotted somewhere you want to sit but for the church and the usher she's thinking this will align with the camera position proving we don't like systems thinking, the fear of change that held him and others back when change is good.

From making 800K on TikTok and not caring what anyone thinks to building an international feminine hygiene brand by teaching instead of just selling, and why the brutal truth about social media success is that you don't just post products and expect people to care because no one needs your camera until you show them the quality difference between phone footage and professional camera footage, the young woman who started with nothing but a Snapchat account and made over 20,000 cedis in the first 24 hours by posting one product and paying influencers proving that when you give value people will pay upfront without even asking for payment on delivery, the explosive first day that brought over 100 orders and overwhelmed her supplier who quit after just 24 hours saying it was too stressful when customers were ready to pay and wait because she wasn't just selling she was teaching ladies about feminine hygiene that Africans are never taught at home, the bold move of ordering 3,000 pieces wholesale when the first supplier couldn't handle the demand and then jumping to 10,000 pieces even though it sold out the same day and angry customers thought she had scammed them, the year spent investing 80,000 Ghanaian cedis in influencer marketing to make sure her products were on the minds and lips of people before she even touched Instagram or TikTok proving that the first year should be about building trust not just making money, the Snapchat accounts that kept getting reported and taken down by competitors forcing her to move to WhatsApp where 600 people texted her in one day to save their contact because they were actively looking for her, the 2024 decision to finally start posting on TikTok which now drives 90 to 95 percent of her business compared to the 20 percent Snapchat brought because she focused on giving value and teaching instead of dancing and fooling around, the wisdom that every business has value and if you're selling clothes you show people how to style them and if you're selling shoes you teach them what to match with their dress because posting products alone means nothing when people don't understand why they need what you're selling, the revolutionary approach of being explicit and confident about feminine hygiene topics when other Ghanaians are scared to mention those things creating a unique space where mothers and pastors' wives and celebrities come to learn from her, the 12 to 15 FDA approved products she now carries with plans to launch her own production line starting with probiotics and custom feminine washes after traveling to China to find manufacturers who understood her specific ingredient requirements and target customer needs, the trip to China where she was very specific about ingredients and who she was trying to serve refusing to rush the process because she wants to go through it properly and get samples approved before committing to large scale production, the constant video creation whether she's traveling or at home because she's always working to put something good out there for her audience, the post about making 800K on TikTok that people didn't believe but she didn't care because the money was in her account not theirs and if you're going to be on the internet promoting your business you cannot care about what people say Guest: Charity Boateng (Femlas Founder) Host: Derrick Abaitey

From pricing for approval to pricing for sustainability and why the brutal truth about why small businesses stay small is that they price so low trying to make everyone their customer when the reality is not everyone is your customer and if you're scared to tell people your prices are expensive then go where it's cheap you will keep your business stagnant, the young woman who built an international feminine hygiene brand shipping to the US, Canada, UK, Germany, and Nigeria by refusing to pity herself and make people believe they are buying even when no one is buying because people don't want to buy from struggling businesses, the trip to China to create custom packaging that required buying 5,000 to 10,000 pieces across five different sizes proving that if you price too low and don't make good money you can never push your business to the next level, the competitor selling a similar product for 70 cedis after buying it for 50 cedis and wondering why the business isn't working when packaging costs, delivery fees, and operational expenses eat up that tiny 20 cedi margin, the wisdom that when you price something at 100 cedis and people say it's too expensive that's because you're trying to make everyone your customer instead of being selective about your customer base, the revolutionary approach of making products fun and making people believe they need it instead of sitting down pitying yourself posting that no one is buying when people don't want to know why no one is buying from you, the same product launched in June or July selling above 500 to 600 pieces because of knowing how to market it and push it and make it attractive instead of pricing it cheap out of fear, the realization that people are curious to know why others are buying from a business and will push towards you but if you sit down unmotivated showing the world no one is buying you send people away, the critical instruction to think about the future of your business and price for sustainability unless you're just looking for quick money and any margin will do, the discipline that pushes every single day more than motivation because discipline keeps you going when motivation fades, the motivation that comes from the smiles on customers' faces and solving their problems even when most of the time it's not about selling but just giving tips and teaching them, the best advice ever received being don't price for approval price for sustainability which changed the entire trajectory of the business, the book recommendation of Famio Tidal's story that motivated even though people said he had a head start because it's not about getting a head start it's about knowing what you are doing and being consistent, the wisdom that if he didn't continue and wasn't consistent and didn't know what he was doing he wouldn't have gotten to that point proving it's not about coming from money it's about execution and persistence, the refusal to pity small business owners who like to pity themselves posting that no one has bought today when you should never let the world see you struggling because perception drives purchasing decisions and people buy from businesses that look successful not desperate. Guest: Charity Boateng (Femlas Founder) Host: Derrick Abaitey

From making 800K on TikTok and not caring what anyone thinks to building an international feminine hygiene brand that ships across continents, and why the brutal truth about starting a business when you have nothing is that you don't need someone to sit you down and teach you because the same internet people use for gossip has everything you need to learn on YouTube and TikTok, the young woman who learned everything from YouTube and started with dropshipping before building her own brand that solves problems doctors recommend to their patients, the wisdom that if you're going to be on the internet promoting your business you cannot care about what people say because when she posted she made 800K on TikTok people didn't believe her but she didn't care because the money was in her account not theirs, the reality that TikTok and social media work when you give value and show people the importance of what you're selling instead of just posting products because no one cares about a camera until you show them the difference between phone quality and camera quality, the revolutionary approach of not just selling products but teaching ladies how to take care of themselves and solving feminine hygiene problems that Africans are never taught at home, the first supplier who said it was too stressful after just one day when over 100 orders came in from just posting on Snapchat and paying influencers, the realization that she was even the first person to sell such products and while others were just posting without explanation she came in teaching and giving value because she went through those problems in university and wished someone was there to help her understand how to take care of herself better, the wisdom that you have to scout for products and think about what problem it can solve because if you are selling anything you must know who your audience is and what problem your product solves for them, the step by step breakdown of going to Alibaba and learning how to order from China by watching one or two YouTube videos in 2021 even before setting up the business and just playing on the apps until it became easy, the advice that people want to be taught before they take a step when sometimes you just need to start and get the idea and play on the apps because right now we have YouTube and TikTok where people teach these things for free, the critical instruction to make sure you're buying from verified suppliers on Alibaba and comparing prices from different suppliers especially when you're a beginner, the process of sending products for lab analysis first which costs between 1000 to 3000 cedis before sending to FDA for registration which charges about 500 dollars for imported products, the smartest way to start being dropshipping where you sell somebody's products online but you must make sure you know a lot about what you are selling and have knowledge about it because if you don't know you must learn, the reality that there are people who swallow products when they're supposed to be inserted and insert when they're supposed to be swallowed proving you should know what you're doing enough that when they come to you you should know the solution, the biggest challenge being FDA approval because sometimes a product comes and they want to change the name after she's already marketed it with that name creating a whole lot of back and forth, the wisdom that people are usually more focused on the money than the value they give to people which is where she picked her form by actually teaching instead of just assuming everyone knew what the products do, the use of shipping companies like AKT for years because they are reliable and the advice to go on the internet to learn instead of looking for gossip because anything you want is on the internet and people make it available for free. Guest: Charity Boateng (Femlas Founder) Host: Derrick Abaitey

From lying his way into an internship at Nigeria's biggest TV station to building Glitch Africa and the Honest Bunch podcast that millions watch across the continent, and why the brutal truth about escaping poverty and creating success in Africa is that audacity matters more than credentials because when you come from nothing you either take bold action or stay stuck in the loop of waiting for someone to hand you opportunities that will never come. Guest: Best Amakhian Company - Glitch Africa Studios Host: Derrick Abaitey IG: https://www.instagram.com/derrick.abaitey YT: https://www.youtube.com/@DerrickAbaitey Join Konnected Academy: https://www.triibe.io/konnected-academy Listen to the podcast on: Apple Podcast - http://tinyurl.com/4ttwbdxe Spotify - http://tinyurl.com/3he8hjfp Join this channel: /@konnectedminds FOLLOW ► https://linktr.ee/konnectedminds #Podcast #businesspodcast #AfricanPodcast #honestbunchpodcast

From selling over 800K on TikTok alone to building an international feminine hygiene brand that ships across continents, and why the brutal truth about starting a business with nothing is that you don't need perfection, you don't need a physical shop, you don't need everything figured out because the young woman who started selling on Snapchat with no business name and made over 20,000 cedis in the first 24 hours now runs a brand that doctors recommend to their patients, the childhood of being sent away at age two to live with family friends and aunties because her mother was too busy farming to raise six children creating a pattern where all the kids were scattered across different homes, the reality of growing up with different people getting different types of treatment and mistreatment that made her tough but also made her crave freedom so much she started living alone at 14 years old, the parents who are commercial farmers waking up at 4am every single day to go to their farms even in their old age refusing to rest and providing loans to people while educating all six children through university without anyone seeing them struggling, the hard work ethic learned from watching parents who never stopped even when they had the option to rest because their farming business gave them that choice, the university dream of becoming a journalist that shifted to construction after a conversation with a classmate whose uncle made a lot of money in the industry because she liked money and understood that money equals freedom, the childhood restrictions on money even though her parents were doing well because her mom would not let anyone have it easy creating a burning desire to make her own money so she could enjoy it her way, the business journey that started because she always wanted to be a business person and never wanted the 9 to 5 life of being controlled and dictated to even though she tried it and realized it wasn't for her, the first 24 hours of business that brought more than 100 orders just from posting on Snapchat and paying influencers proving that social selling works when you show up consistently, the 20,000 cedis or more made in the first 24 hours just from Snapchat with no WhatsApp, no Instagram, no TikTok because people trusted her so much they were paying upfront without asking for payment on delivery, the waiting a full year into the business before even starting to use Instagram or TikTok because Snapchat alone was generating that much demand, the supplier who got overwhelmed after just one day and said it was too stressful leaving the business hanging but proving the concept worked, the 800K milestone on TikTok that made people not believe her when she posted it but she didn't care because if you're going to be on the internet promoting your business you can't care about what people say, the wisdom that TikTok and social media work when you give value and show people how to use what you're selling instead of just posting products, the reality that she wasn't ready to see success in her first year but focused on making sure people trusted her by showing up more and being consistent, the international expansion shipping to the US, Canada, UK, Germany, and Nigeria because she focused her first year not on making money but on getting her products in the minds and on the lips of people, the thousands of orders and reviews flooding in proving she's fulfilling a purpose of educating women about feminine hygiene that Africans are never taught at home, the trip to China to create the packaging she envisioned because she couldn't get what she wanted in Ghana and wanted something that would entice eyes and not be thrown away, the refusal to compare herself to competitors opening big shops because her path is different and her business can do well without a shop if she shows up consistently and authentically. Guest: Charity Boateng (Femlas Founder) Host: Derrick Abaitey

From leaving home at 14 and never going back to building a business that gave her the voice nobody let her have growing up, and why the brutal truth about why some entrepreneurs push harder than others is that when you grow up without attention, without anyone listening to your problems, without parents telling you they're proud of you or that you're beautiful, the hunger to be seen and heard becomes the fuel that drives you to build something that forces the world to pay attention, the young girl who went to secondary school and never returned home because she craved freedom from a family that didn't know her well enough to understand who she really was, the mother who was against her moving to Accra because she thought it meant prostitution and doing men when the real issue was she never knew her daughter at all, the childhood of being scared of a very hard mother and having a soft father who wouldn't interfere creating a home where if you had a problem you kept it to yourself because there was nobody to talk to, the university years of packing her bags alone and traveling to campus by herself while watching other students arrive with parents and grandmothers and entire families when nobody came to visit her throughout her time there, the realization that the lack of attention from parents and the people she stayed with made her want to be alone but also created a deep desire to be seen and heard which became the foundation of her business, the pattern emerging across successful entrepreneurs where neglect and feeling like their opinion didn't matter in families created a drive to make money because money became the ultimate tool through which society respects people, the moving to Accra with no plan and a friend who never picked up the phone forcing her to stay with a total stranger for months while starting national service, the Apple shop job during service that turned toxic with men and women's stuff leading her to file for early completion after just seven months, the two years at home trying different things including working under someone in construction where she was waking up, going to work, spending 20 to 30 cedis daily on transportation and food without getting paid or learning anything, the day she cried at work and called her friend to say she was coming back home and never showed up to that job again, the guy from a previous workplace who came through for her during those two years at home but the relationship that was saving her eventually stopped saving her, the childhood trauma of carrying water on her head from age eight walking from 18 in Kumasi to Amakom market back and forth, selling food by the roadside, and going through so much that now when she's spending and overspending she tells herself leave it you've been through a lot, the pride of getting to where she is because nobody got her here except her and God when she never thought she would get to this point after doing so many things in pain and being neglected, the transformation from the child whose voice didn't matter to the woman the family now calls before making any decision because no decision goes through the family without passing through her first, the networking problem created by always keeping to herself and her two friends because growing up alone made her want to keep people out of her business even though she wants people to know her, the decision that if she becomes a parent she will show her kids how to love themselves, point to them, and make them her friend instead of making them afraid the way she was afraid of her mother. Guest: Charity Host: Derrick Abaitey

From defying her mother's wishes to leave university and pursue government work to building a thriving feminine hygiene business that ships to the US, Canada, UK, Germany, and Nigeria, and why the brutal truth about starting a business when you have nothing is that you don't need perfection, you don't need a physical shop, you don't need everything figured out because the young woman who started with no business name and bathed with AC water during her toughest days now runs an international brand that doctors recommend to their patients, the painful reality of being the child nobody listened to or understood growing up in a home where your voice didn't matter and being bullied without anyone sitting you down to hear your problems, the university years of feeling invisible and unheard that shaped a determination to create something meaningful on her own terms, the national service period searching for jobs that never came and the five to six years that could have been miserable if she had kept waiting for someone else to create opportunities for her, the moment after service when she moved in with friends and life got so tough they were bathing with water collected from the AC unit because they couldn't afford to fill their tanks in a house with illegal electrical connection, the realization that she hates discomfort so much it became the driving force that pushed her to build something of her own at her own pace, the mother who didn't want her working in shops or informal businesses because she wanted her daughter to wear suits and work the 9 to 5 government job that represented respectability when that path felt like suffocation, the father who understood and supported her vision even when her mother couldn't see it, the business that started without even a name because she was so focused on solving problems for women and creating freedom through feminine hygiene education that Africans are never taught at home, the first three weeks of selling 500 products and then hitting a wall where orders stopped coming but instead of quitting she sat down and asked how can I do this better, the decision to invest everything she made back into the business by reaching out to influencer Dorsey who charged 2,500 cedis for promotional posts, the 24 hours after Dorsey's first post that generated 25,000 cedis in sales proving the product and message resonated, the bold move of taking that same money and paying Dorsey for an entire month of promotion and then another month because she wasn't motivated by short term gains but by the vision of building an international brand, the thousands of sales that came through recommendations because she focused her first year not on making money but on getting her products in the minds and on the lips of people, the biggest problem being FDA approvals that prevent her from adding certain products even though pharmacies stock her items and doctors actively recommend patients come to her, the 2,000 orders in just three days during a sales period proving that online presence and trust can generate massive results without a physical shop, the reviews flooding in that make her so happy because she's fulfilling a purpose of educating women about feminine hygiene and seeing them get real results, the trip to China that finally allowed her to create the packaging she envisioned because she couldn't get what she wanted in Ghana and she wanted something that would entice eyes and not be thrown away when it arrived in people's homes, the wisdom that you don't need to get everything at once and she likes going through the process without rushing on anyone else's timeline, the refusal to compare herself to competitors opening big shops because her path is different and her business can do well without a shop if she shows up consistently and authentically. Guest: Femlas Founder Host: Derrick Abaitey

From defying her mother's wishes and moving to Accra alone with no clear plan to building a six-figure business in 24 hours using only Snapchat, and why the brutal truth about starting a business when you have nothing is that sometimes the desperation to not depend on anyone becomes the fuel that drives you to create something from absolutely nothing, the young woman who packed her bags and left Kumasi for Accra against everyone's advice except her father's because she knew her family didn't understand what she truly wanted and staying in Kumasi meant staying stuck, arriving in Accra with nowhere to go when her friend never picked up the phone forcing her to stay with a total stranger for months while starting her national service, the painful reality of going to university alone carrying your own bags while watching other students arrive with their entire families when no one came to visit you throughout your time there, the Apple shop job during national service that turned toxic with men and women's stuff forcing her to file for early completion after just seven months, the two years of staying home trying different things without passion or results while depending on a man from a previous workplace who was doing well and taking care of her, the relationship that was saving her but also suffocating her because being at home not doing anything and not making money meant having to depend on a man which made her deeply uncomfortable, the 10,000 cedis she managed to save from that relationship by giving the money to a friend to hold because she knew if she kept it herself she would spend it all, the random day she bought a feminine hygiene product from a lady online for way less than the 350 cedis she had paid before and forgot about it until a friend asked for something similar, the moment she realized she could make a business out of it and spent hours on the phone with her friend planning a dropshipping model where she would post products and forward orders to the supplier who would deliver directly to customers, posting the product on Snapchat the same afternoon she came up with the idea and immediately paying an influencer to promote it, the explosive response that brought more than 100 orders in the first 24 hours proving how desperately people needed that product, the supplier who got overwhelmed after just one day and said it was too stressful and she couldn't do it anymore leaving the business hanging, the realization that people trusted her so much they were paying upfront without asking for payment on delivery when she had just put a price there and customers were ready to pay just like that, making about 20,000 cedis or more in the first 24 hours just from Snapchat with no WhatsApp, no Instagram, no TikTok, just Snapchat and influencers she kept paying because the money was coming in and the orders kept flowing, waiting a full year into the business before even starting to use Instagram or TikTok because Snapchat alone was generating that much demand. Guest: Femlas Founder Host: Derrick Abaitey

From the dangerous mindset that marriage is just about finding the right person to the revolutionary truth that the quality of the players in marriage determines whether you see relationship as competition or collaboration, and why the brutal truth about why marriages collapse is that people bring residual effects from their upbringing into marriage without understanding that though you may look polished, educated, and talented, the effect of the environment that raised you is still there and just a little trigger will show where you came from, the young person raised in an environment where you fight for everything creating a competition mentality of survival of the fittest that no matter how refined you appear carries forward into adult relationships, the child who was shifted from one house to another or had wealthy parents who were sound and had everything but gave no time leaving a person devoid of love who had everything going for them but didn't have attention or affection, the partner coming into marriage struggling with trust issues asking can I trust what you are doing because the effect of where I'm coming from is tearing me apart and in my subconscious I'm hearing voices from the past, the realization that the quality of players in marriage is one thing but the pattern of play requires that you fish out your opponent and understand their pattern because no two marriages are the same and you may have a friend whose wife does certain things but you cannot expect your wife to be like that, the wisdom that you must sit down and talk about what are the possible things that can challenge the mindset of a person and bring them to see marriage as competition instead of collaboration, the understanding that when you sit down and truly understand each other that understanding will weave something that brings you to a place of knowing you are a team not competitors, the competition mindset that doesn't happen overnight and may not be resolved by yourself alone but you can get help, the agencies and people coming with competition wanting to prove who is on top which is all lack of knowledge and ignorance that should be sorted out before marriage, the critical truth that there are things that should be sorted out before marriage because if you wait those dysfunctional tendencies will be used as weapons against a fantastic marriage that could have been properly managed for the greatest result, the intense premarital exposure to knowledge and wisdom that digs out a lot about a person because you are not just the man that wears the shirt and trouser in front of me but a combination of a lot of things, the women who are a combination of a lot of things where so many have been broken before marriage and the competitive clamoring is not about competing against you but about the backlog of trauma that may not have been resolved, the women looking for the next victim to lash out on because they may have been violated, abused, molested, talked down to, or considered inconsequential, the beautiful glamorous woman where what you see may just be the container but you do not know the content, the process of knowing the content that takes time starting with meeting the person with the mindset of friendship, the opportunities to create trust that you are not coming as one of the bandwagons of people that abused her one way or the other which will go through rigorous testing where she will test you. Guest: Mama Cathy Host: Derrick Abaitey

From the dangerous mindset that marriage is 50-50 when it comes to household duties and financial contributions to the revolutionary truth that every marriage is different and whether you bring 50% or 100% to the table doesn't determine superiority or inferiority because marriage is teamwork where both people deserve respect, and why the brutal truth about the question "what do you bring to the table" among Gen Z and millennials is that it's almost always about money when marriage has been seriously misconstrued because where purpose is not known abuse is inevitable according to the late Dr. Myles Munroe, the realization that marriage is more about legacy and dominion than money because if you will refer to the manual for a complicated gadget you spent money on so you don't blow it then how many people have referred to the manual for marriage asking whose idea was it and who instituted it, the argument that the Bible as the manual for marriage is so old it seems traditional making young people believe it doesn't work anymore for them when the real issue is clarity about the purpose for which marriage was created because whatever you don't know the purpose for which it was created you are certainly bound to abuse it, the wisdom that people marry based on likes and what they will gain and free feelings that don't work when the conversation about why God started marriage is completely lost, the revolutionary truth for Christians and non-Christians alike found in Isaiah 14 verses 11 to 14, Ezekiel 28 verses 11 to 14, and Revelations showing that marriage will be corrupted if we don't understand it's not about money or communication but the real reason why God established marriage, the scriptural revelation that Genesis 1 is not where everything started because there was somebody here before time who went up to plan a coup d'état saying I will be like God and take over but the coup failed and he was cast down and destabilized the face of the earth bringing confusion which is why Genesis 1 says the earth was without form and void, the critical question of how can God if this God is so excellent create chaos and something that doesn't make sense or have form when the answer is God never created the chaos but somebody messed everything up, the wisdom that God never reacted to the enemy but said let there be, let there be, let there be and put the world in place and in Genesis 1:28 said let them have dominion over the earth, the powerful truth that marriage was established as the institution that will progress and fill the world so marriage is God's idea for dominion but you must know the common enemy who destabilized everything, the 50-50 debate where a woman who brings 50% to the table must realize that if you have disparity sort it out in the bedroom so you don't create a scenario where children believe you can just confront and insult anywhere because bringing 50-50 doesn't mean you stop his authority since there must be a structure and a family is a place where the next generation is groomed, the man who brings 100% to the table and must be careful not to exercise dictatorship because in marriage there's no superiority and no inferiority so because you bring all of the 100% doesn't give you the right to treat your wife as a second fiddle, the scenario where the husband provides 100% for the household and everything and the wife doesn't have to lift a finger if she doesn't want to but if she wants to that's a different case proving every marriage is different, the marriages where 100% works and marriages where 50-50 works depending on the marriage structure. Guest: Mama Cathy Host: Derrick Abaitey

From leaving the Tokyo Stock Market as the only black equity analyst to investing over 2 million USD into a fish farm in Ghana, and why the brutal truth about why young Africans miss farming opportunities is that we've been conditioned to see weeding as punishment and farming as something for people who cannot read and write when the reality is that Ghana spends 100 million dollars per annum importing tomatoes from Burkina Faso. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: Meet Seth Boakye-Dankwah 00:03:39 From Japan's Stock Market to Ghana's Fish Farms 00:09:29 The Asian Mindset: Understanding Risk as Opportunity 00:18:42 The $2 Million Investment Decision 00:20:18 Recirculating Aquaculture System Explained 00:34:44 The Hard Truth About Catfish Farming Profitability 00:30:33 Why Family Members Are Banned From The Business 00:25:55 Building a Business That Outlives You 00:38:04 The Marketing Challenge: From Farm to Consumer 00:52:55 Advice for Young Africans: Why Farming is Wealth Creation 01:04:47 Product Showcase and Final Thoughts Guest: Seth Boakye-Dankwah Company - Mordecai Farms Web: https://www.mordecaifarm.com/ Host: Derrick Abaitey IG: https://www.instagram.com/derrick.abaitey YT: https://www.youtube.com/@DerrickAbaitey Join Konnected Academy: https://www.triibe.io/konnected-academy Listen to the podcast on: Apple Podcast - http://tinyurl.com/4ttwbdxe Spotify - http://tinyurl.com/3he8hjfp Join this channel: /@konnectedminds FOLLOW ► https://linktr.ee/konnectedminds #Podcast #businesspodcast #AfricanPodcast

From the dangerous mindset that the devil is the one destroying families to the revolutionary truth that until you tame the common enemy you and your spouse can never be on the same wavelength, and why the brutal truth about why millennials and Gen Z don't trust marriage is because the Bible has been corrupted, ministers and preachers have messed up, the older generation managed broken marriages, and some never saw any marriage at all leaving them with no examples to glean from and take into their life journey, the young people coming from broken homes who came from homes that seemingly looked as if they were standing but had no examples they could use as blueprints for their own marriages, the realization that changing the narratives of corruption surrounding marriage so we can trust again is not about money because if your mind is right then as a man thinketh so everything about your perception of marriage is your mindset, the wisdom that until this mind is reguided whatever conversations we hold about marriage will not go far because it's a thing of the mind, the dangerous saying that love is sweet but when money is inside the love is sweeter which is taking advantage when you must understand the purpose for marriage and the purpose for money in marriage, the candid admission that money is sweet, money is comfort, money makes love go to hell but to make that money work for us there also has to be a corresponding peace on understanding and intentionality, the critical question of should women tell their husbands exactly how much they earn with the answer that it depends on who the woman is married to because it's not a blanket yes or no, the right thing being 101% financial transparency but the reality that not every marriage is the same, the marriage where if a spouse knows everything you earn the children's school fees may not be paid, house rents will not be renewed, certain basic needs and utilities will not be taken care of not because the other person is bad but because of the antecedents that need to be understood going back to how we were raised, the man counseled who said all through his life before he married he never had savings, never opened accounts, chopstick finish and start again chopstick which you can't blame because of the effect of upbringing, the woman who should open up completely if she has a husband that understands management and how to handle finances so the two can join heads together making the best out of finances, the dangerous reality of having a man who even when he knows how much you earn finishes it with drinking or taking it to take care of people when thousands of human beings have been exposed to this reality, the man who when the wife used to hand 100% of her salary to him wasn't unfaithful, wasn't playing around with women but used that money to visit people who are not well and the money finished in two weeks leaving children's school fees pending and money for food finished while he filled the car to run around contributing zero to the household. Guest: Mama Cathy Host: Derrick Abaitey

From the dangerous mindset that you need huge capital to start a business in Africa to the revolutionary truth that coconut sellers make between 300 to 500 cedis profit daily; proving that genuine wealth building starts with determination and a mindset shift not money. Guest: Priscilla Atta Peters Company: 30Seeds Host: Derrick Abaitey IG: https://www.instagram.com/derrick.abaitey YT: https://www.youtube.com/@DerrickAbaitey Join Konnected Academy: https://konnectedacademy.com/ Listen to the podcast on: Apple Podcast - http://tinyurl.com/4ttwbdxe Spotify - http://tinyurl.com/3he8hjfp Join this channel: /@konnectedminds FOLLOW ► https://linktr.ee/konnectedminds #Podcast #businesspodcast #AfricanPodcast

From the dangerous mindset that women initiate divorces because they get in there and discover comfort is not just about money to the revolutionary truth that they want time, attention, affection, and a number of things beyond financial provision, and why the brutal truth about why divorces skyrocket is that men don't understand that male and female are wired differently so even when the provision is needed and appreciated, if you do not want to become a victim you've got to come up with a shared vision of what kind of family do we want to be, what kind of legacy do we want to create, what kind of inheritance do we want to give our children, are we going to raise survivors or dynasties, the deep conversations around these areas that make a woman know she's not coming into a situation of unilateral decision making when it comes to finances but based on these parameters and a common shared vision, the realization that divorce will really try to be a thing of the past when communication is prioritized but most times divorce comes as a result of the fact that not much is communicated and you just take what you see without engaging on the modalities that make the person feel a part of it, the brilliant question that takes us back to shared vision: should the woman support the business to allow the family to build a legacy or should she do her own thing, the reality that not many women will come into the life of a man who has clarity with regards to where they are headed as a business wanting to expand and build a dynasty unless you've communicated with your wife, the lunch of information that stops women from joining forces because she stumbled on stories that some woman supported a husband and at the end she was thrown out or the mother was thrown out, the effect of upbringing and what she saw that creates premonitions making her unwilling to support based on antecedents, the slice on the husband to bring her to a place where she understands that whatever produced her good or bad is not what is going to be the outcome of who we are, the balance where the man asks about her dreams and aspirations no matter how small because God never created any junk so he believes she has dreams and can encourage her to do something on the side that will bring the best of her out, the peace that reigns when it's not just the woman coming to support the agenda of the man which is 100% good but seeing a man who is also interested in digging deep into who she is and trying to bring her out so that in supporting him her dreams are not dead, the women who completely ignore the fact that they were supposed to come and support and encourage because they feel left out when limited information comes and they feel a sense of threat that oh my god I don't think I'm a part of what is going on, the wisdom that nobody is really wired a certain way, it's the effect of upbringing, effect of environment, and significant emotional experiences that contribute to who you ultimately have as a support base or as a counterproductive human, the football analogy where there's nothing like competition when we have the winning team but how do you have a winning team when everyone has got their dreams and aspirations, the quality of players where competition is knocked out when two partners come to a place of knowing the quality of their lives, and if they cannot fish it out themselves they pay professional help to bring them to the place where they know, the potential wife that will support you so much but if you do not dig you may not know whether she was raised in a home that was dysfunctional and even though she tries to put up a front there will be triggers that will make her go back to her upbringing and the things she saw which you may not even know, Guest: Mama Cathy Host: Derrick Abaitey

From the dangerous mindset of sizing people based on physique and six packs to the revolutionary truth that nobody will remember you for your work achievements more than family and the children that carry the legacy, and why the brutal truth about marriage longevity is that the older generation had a level of tolerance the younger generation doesn't have because younger people are not ready to put in so much and leave when they're not happy when happiness is not a gift that comes in a breath of gold but something you work out with a threshold of patience, the powerful manifesto every couple needs before engaging: a blueprint, a working document that maps out where you want to see your marriage on your 10th anniversary covering finances, children's upbringing, career, spirituality, sex, everything so you don't marry blindly and walk into it without direction, the woman's perspective that values transparency, honesty, truthfulness, faithfulness as four words describing one thing because faithfulness means you are faithful to me and not cheating unless the woman didn't love you and you have somebody outside and it's only psychoning from you to fix the one she's interested in, the 33 years plus of marriage proving that date night and spending quality time means so much to a woman who wants a man whose presence they can feel, the revolutionary advice that most women choose men they can allow themselves to respect because a man is wired for respect as their greatest desire and love language, the capital letters warning to never marry a man you cannot respect because no man wants to marry another man and your intuitiveness as a woman should be mixed with humility because men are logical and don't want to be challenged even if you have a point to make, the realization that you can say good morning and it means good morning or you can say good morning and it means disrespect so if a woman wants their marriage to work and have the man feel like the man in the home give that man respect, the marriages that are not really getting better because the younger generation doesn't have the tolerance older generations had and are not ready to put in work, the happiness trap where everybody thinks if there's no happiness we work out when if everybody is working out what will be left of this institution, the early years of marriage being the most challenging season filled with expectations that get smashed coupled with raising children when you have a husband that is extremely intelligent, hardworking, and out there achieving so much but wasn't really available and you hadn't planned for the lack of availability, the seven years with four children that was big challenging but they set out, understood themselves, and gave him the space to become the best thing he was, the endurance through eight years that was a bit unstable and then started settling in bringing them to a season where father is seven on earth, the other couples whose early years are thrilling and then suddenly something strikes and the storm comes in and you compare the past and the present discovering the early years were extremely smooth but now you're in this challenging and testing season, the sitting back now to say I bless God for everything that happened because it brought the best out of us, the secret to surviving your early years of marriage, and why the ultimate truth is this: stop sizing people based on physique and six packs because that six packs man can put you in grief tomorrow and that lady that is like an angel that got missing from heaven can send you to an early grave, beauty is good and six packs is good but you should slow it down and promise yourself that you receive family that in the midst of the confusion and chaos in the world you will stand out. Guest: Mama Cathy Host: Derrick Abaitey

From the husband who wants to check out because his wife nags and doesn't reason with him to the revolutionary truth that every person has a melting point that determines who they ultimately become, and why the brutal truth about why marriages collapse is that we spend years learning careers like medicine and law but expect to master marriage in six months when the microwave mindset of competing with AI and technology will never work in relationship, the wisdom that nothing good comes easy and if we want to fix society we must be willing to pay the price to reorder and rewrite the storylines, the realization that most families have broken people terribly and immensely but it's only the clothes that cover their idiosyncrasies, the challenge to the younger generation that you may have been broken in the family you come from but you mustn't repeat the cycle, the warning that if you haven't looked critically at how to affect the things in your childhood you wish had not happened you're going to give a double dose of that to your children, the dangerous reality that some ladies picture an image of a husband as just an ATM machine which is a very faulty and erroneous mindset to have, the call to raise daughters who would not think like that by looking frantically for whoever can take you through psychometric analysis that can tell you about you beyond you to clean the contents of water that had been infiltrated and corrupted, the powerful statement that women don't just blame the ladies, blame fatherhood because the woman is created by God to draw inspiration from the father, the message to present fathers to bless your daughters and look for a woman you can trust to help the process of healing and restoration, the quantum reality check that helps discover the reason why a person is the way the person is because nobody is created to be a nag or irresponsible, something was broken somewhere, the woman who nags because her husband never listens to her and really hears her out, never pays attention when she's talking so she forces him to hear what she's saying without knowing that men are not wired to handle nagging attitudes, the man who goes or complains that she doesn't reason with him and even when he wants to have a conversation it doesn't really happen so he's lost the desire to even sleep with her and is checking out, the question that determines the next line of action: what effort have you made to seek help for both of you, the wisdom that nobody has monopoly of knowledge and you may be excellent at your work and business but you may not know everything when it comes to relationship, the realization that there is no situation that cannot be handled and made better when it comes to these dysfunctionalities if you're willing to pay the price and say I want to marry right, I want to have my marriage work, I want to be a blessing to my partner, the revolutionary belief that we are not also willing to pay the price to fix the family institution and the responsibility raised on the head of the male because they are the heads but the neck turns the head, the neck that you allow to be dysfunctional will tell you the wrong direction so why don't you fix the neck, the critical truth that the content must be sorted out before marriage not six months after you thought you knew them because will you practice medicine or law just by being exposed to tutelage in two months or six months when careers require years of exposure, the challenge that this generation wants to bring microwave mindsets into relationship. Guest: Mama Cathy Host: Derrick Abaitey

From coming into marriage as a fresh graduate with zero income to 33 years of partnership built on redefining contribution beyond money, and why the brutal truth about why 40% of marriages fail because of finances is that couples limit provision to just the person bringing in monetary means when domestic needs, spiritual assignments, and taking care of children are resources that cannot be quantified but amount to so much, the young bride who wasn't working so her husband was really the one in charge of providing finances but there was no control or superiority because in those times there were no televisions giving so much information about relationship struggles, no telephones, no influence, so information was limited making it easier to respect what each partner brought to the table, the realization that if you don't redefine contribution you destabilize the equation of marriage because the person not bringing in money may feel dehumanized and brought to a level where they feel inferior and not needed, the candid admission that no matter how the other partner tries to make you happy you still feel you could have been better off if you had your own money because of the value society places on money, the wisdom that money is not the only parameter that makes marriage work because there's somebody taking care of domestic needs which might not be quantified monetarily but it's something, somebody taking care of spiritual assignments praying for the family to thrive and succeed, somebody taking care of children which you don't quantify in monetary terms but somebody does that, the husband who recognized that even though she wasn't gainfully employed she was taking care of the home front so there was equal balancing out of what each brought to the table, the respect and management that meant she wasn't scrambling for leftover bread crumbs which happens when people in control of money in a particular season do not value what the other partner brings in, the generational difference where married couples in the past didn't have much marriage counseling and you married based on connection socially or spiritually, where in the context of Christianity once you were Christian you were open to marrying another person who said they were Christian, the modern reality where younger generations must know it's not only money but other things that matter, the ladies who picture an image of a husband as just an ATM machine when marriage requires seeing the full picture of contribution, the statistic that women initiate divorces the most because they get in there and discover the reality doesn't match the picture, the question of whether marriages get better or worse after 33 years, the debate about whether if you contribute 50% of your salary to the family and I do 50% should I also help you in bathing the children and cooking, the principle that men should also support their women not just in the home but in business, the wisdom that in your view if a man starts a business the woman should support it not just do her own thing because the quality of the players in marriage determines whether you seek competition or collaboration. Guest: Mama Cathy Host: Derrick Abaitey

From the dangerous mindset that no one is coming to save you to the revolutionary truth that when you realize at age 12 or 13 that your entire family is waiting for someone else to rescue them you get an awakening that changes everything, and why the brutal truth about becoming a millionaire at 25 and losing it all by 27 is that the first thing that comes to an average Ghanaian person's mind when given an opportunity in business is steal. A deep conversation about the mindset of success with Christian Amoh Guest: Christian Zen Amoh Company - Ohemaa Rice Host: Derrick Abaitey IG: https://www.instagram.com/derrick.abaitey YT: https://www.youtube.com/@DerrickAbaitey Join Konnected Academy: https://www.triibe.io/konnected-academy Listen to the podcast on: Apple Podcast - http://tinyurl.com/4ttwbdxe Spotify - http://tinyurl.com/3he8hjfp Join this channel: /@konnectedminds FOLLOW ► https://linktr.ee/konnectedminds #Podcast #businesspodcast #AfricanPodcast

From the nagging wife who feels unheard to the husband who shuts down because he cannot handle her communication style, and why the brutal truth about why marriages collapse is that every person has a melting point that determines who they ultimately become, the woman who nags because her husband never listens to her and really hears her out, never pays attention when she's talking so she forces him to hear what she's saying without knowing that men are not wired to handle nagging attitudes, the realization that addressing brokenness, mindset, worldviews, ideologies, beliefs, and most importantly values is the only way to save a marriage because a woman who has exasperated her husband has not been able to actualize what her values are, the wisdom that when both partners are taken through proper help and therapy they could have the most excellent marriage thereafter because for lack of knowledge people perish but when knowledge hits you realize who you're married to, the revolutionary belief that any two people can make a marriage work excellently well because there is no wrong person only a wrong choice founded on ignorance and things you were not exposed to, the couples who separate over irreconcilable differences and then sit in front of a counselor and independently say I understand now why my husband or my wife was acting that way, now I understand myself, now it's like the veil is lifted, the 25 years of counseling and life coaching and 33 plus years of staying married that proves no matter how much we think we know there is a place of knowing where every veil that contributed to challenges is completely taken off and you see things for how they truly are and then you come to a place of healing, the internet coaches and counselors giving blanket marital advice when what works for one marriage may not work for another because how one person manages their marriage must not ultimately be the way you do yours, the joint accounts that work in some homes but may never work in others, the separate bank accounts that can exist while being one in spirit as long as you know exactly what you are doing financially as a home where you have different accounts but the family income is one, the common purse where both partners send percentages to with investments and children's education funds where you bring 50% of your income into this account, 20% into that account, and leave a percentage for personal allowance, the debate about Guest: Mama Cathy Host: Derrick Abaitey

From coming into marriage as a fresh graduate with zero income to 33 years of partnership built on redefining contribution beyond money, and why the brutal truth about why 40% of marriages fail because of finances is that couples limit provision to just the person bringing in monetary means when domestic needs, spiritual assignments, and taking care of children are resources that cannot be quantified but amount to so much, the young bride who wasn't working so her husband was really the one in charge of providing finances but there was no control or superiority because in those times there were no televisions giving so much information about relationship struggles, no telephones, no influence, so information was limited making it easier to respect what each partner brought to the table, the realization that if you don't redefine contribution you destabilize the equation of marriage because the person not bringing in money may feel dehumanized and brought to a level where they feel inferior and not needed, the candid admission that no matter how the other partner tries to make you happy you still feel you could have been better off if you had your own money because of the value society places on money, the wisdom that money is not the only parameter that makes marriage work because there's somebody taking care of domestic needs which might not be quantified monetarily but it's something, somebody taking care of spiritual assignments praying for the family to thrive and succeed, somebody taking care of children which you don't quantify in monetary terms but somebody does that, the husband who recognized that even though she wasn't gainfully employed she was taking care of the home front so there was equal balancing out of what each brought to the table, the respect and management that meant she wasn't scrambling for leftover bread crumbs which happens when people in control of money in a particular season do not value what the other partner brings in, the generational difference where married couples in the past didn't have much marriage counseling and you married based on connection socially or spiritually, where in the context of Christianity once you were Christian you were open to marrying another person who said they were Christian, the modern reality where younger generations must know it's not only money but other things that matter, the ladies who picture an image of a husband as just an ATM machine when marriage requires seeing the full picture of contribution, the statistic that women initiate divorces the most because they get in there and discover the reality doesn't match the picture, the question of whether marriages get better or worse after 33 years, the debate about whether if you contribute 50% of your salary to the family and I do 50% should I also help you in bathing the children and cooking, the principle that men should also support their women not just in the home but in business, the wisdom that in your view if a man starts a business the woman should support it not just do her own thing because the quality of the players in marriage determines whether you seek competition or collaboration, the transparency question of should women tell your husband exactly how much you earn with the emphatic answer of 101% yes, and why the ultimate truth is this: life itself is very challenging and finding solutions to issues that have been problems most especially as it relates to relationship requires bringing people to a place of peace, giving clarity on the issue of relationship, family life, marriage, and helping people navigate the rough terrain of life because we are created for relationship, understanding that there are things that should be sorted out before marriage because if you wait until after it's too late, recognizing that being creative for relationship means balancing your pursuit with peace, knowing that transitioning from where you are to where you ought to be within the confines of relationship requires gaining insight and knowledge and wisdom that will guarantee peace for the next 40 to 50 years, and if you want to make money not the problem in a relationship or marriage you must be careful to know that money is not the only denominator because there are other things brought in that if you quantify them amount to so much, and when you understand that provision isn't limited to monetary means, when you respect what each partner contributes whether it's finances or domestic care or spiritual covering or raising children, when you don't let the person in control of money feel superior and make the other feel inferior, you're not just building a marriage that lasts 33 years, you're creating a partnership where both people feel valued, needed, and respected regardless of who holds the financial power in any given season. Guest: Mama Cathy Host: Derrick Abaitey

From childhood neglect and zero attention from parents to building a social selling empire on TikTok making over 800,000 cedis, and why the brutal truth about entrepreneurial success is that the drive to be seen, to be heard, and to finally get the attention you prayed for but never received creates the kind of relentless hunger that turns restriction into freedom and loneliness into financial power, the young girl who grew up with different people getting different types of treatment and being so level headed she didn't misbehave despite having no attention from parents or the people she stayed with, the 14 year old who went to SHS and never went back home, who stayed with her big sister who was mostly not there giving her freedom to be alone and do things on her own, the daughter of hardworking farmers who wake up at 4am every day to go to the farm and never stop even though they are old and could rest because they built their own business and have the option but choose to keep going, the university graduate who watched her parents educate six kids through farming alone without begging for money proving that any small thing if you build on it consistently is going to yield something, the girl who always wanted to be a journalist until a conversation in SHS about an uncle in construction making a lot of money made her realize she likes money because money equals freedom, the business woman who tried nine to five jobs and hated being controlled and supervised because growing up alone made her not like being controlled by other people, the social seller who discovered that she can speak to people, teach, set up the camera and talk about stuff because she wants to be seen and heard and people don't even have what's in her head, the TikTok entrepreneur who made over 800,000 cedis selling products online when haters said she didn't make that money and her response was I don't care because the money is in her account not theirs, the daughter whose mother was against her coming to Accra thinking she would engage in prostitution because that's the perception about Accra but she felt like her mom didn't know her well which is why she was thinking that way, the young woman who never had it easy, who grew up with different people and got different treatment and mistreatment which made her tough but also made her want freedom so much because she was tired of being with people, the level headed girl who had the freedom to be alone from 14 years old and didn't misbehave proving that not having attention doesn't break everyone, it creates some people who say I want to be alone since you're not giving me what I need, and why the ultimate truth is this: not being heard as a child, never having attention from parents, being restricted when it comes to money even though your parents were doing well because your mom is not going to let you have it easy, growing up with family friends and uncles and aunties instead of your own parents because your mom was very busy farming and taking care of six kids, all of that neglect and restriction doesn't destroy everyone, it creates some people who say I want my freedom, I want to be seen, I want to be heard, and when they discover business lets them teach and speak and show people what's in their head, when making money gives them the freedom they never had growing up, when financial success means finally getting the attention they prayed for but never received, they push through with relentless hunger because the alternative is going back to those days of being invisible, and if you want to start a business, if you want to learn how to use social media to promote your business and make something out of it, if you want to know how someone did it alone and believes you can also do it, then this conversation is for you because charity is here for the small business owners, the people who want to start but don't know what to start from, the people who have started but don't know how to go about it, and she's going to spill everything she has done step by step including how to build your own product. Guest: Charity Boateng Host: Derrick Abaite

From posting products nobody cares about to teaching 800,000 cedis worth of value on TikTok, and why the brutal truth about selling anything online is that no one cares about your camera, your shoes, or your feminine hygiene products unless you show them the problem it solves, how to use it, and why their life needs it right now, the entrepreneur who discovered that the woman selling products for 350 cedis was just posting pictures assuming everyone knew what it does when ladies had no idea because African homes don't teach feminine hygiene and parents don't sit you down to explain these things, the university graduate who went through problems herself and wished someone was there to help her understand how to take care of herself which created the drive to teach ladies what they need to know instead of just selling products, the TikTok strategy that made 800,000 cedis and more because she wasn't there to dance and fool around but to sit down and give explicit knowledge that celebrities, pastors' wives, and mothers never had, the haters who said she didn't make that money and her response of "I don't care, the money is in my account not yours, I made more than that" because when you know your product works and you're giving value you don't care what people say, the Alibaba journey where she taught herself how to order from China by playing on the app, watching YouTube videos, and learning without waiting for someone to sell her a course or sit her down because no one has your time, you should have your own time, the beginner advice to identify the problem your product solves first before you even think about suppliers or shipping because if you're selling anything you need to know what problem it solves and who your audience is, the FDA approval battles that became her biggest challenge when products come with one name but FDA changes it after she's already marketed it creating confusion, the ingredients research she does on every product because "if I didn't want to die I wouldn't want you to die" so she uses her own products and learns about what's inside them, the lab analysis costing 1,000 to 3,000 cedis and FDA registration for imported products at $500 proving you need money to do things right but you can start by reselling other people's products if you have knowledge about what you're selling, the camera example where posting "I'm selling a camera" means nothing but showing phone camera versus real camera quality, explaining why someone serious would choose the camera, demonstrating the value makes people care, the salon analogy that if you open a salon and don't know how to wash hair it will collapse because you just wanted money or had support but didn't have knowledge about salons, the internet wisdom where she doesn't care about gossip, doesn't go online looking for anyone's business, uses her time to learn instead of looking for gossip because anything you want to know is on YouTube, TikTok, free materials that people make available, the verified suppliers on Alibaba for beginners, the AKT shipping company she's used for years because they're reliable, the Turkey and China trips proving she's willing to travel and learn and build an international brand, the people who want to be taught before they take a step when sometimes you need to start, get the idea, play on the apps, watch videos, and figure it out yourself, the realization that when it comes to products you don't need to do your own production from the start but you need to know something about what you're selling because there are people who swallow when they're supposed to insert and insert when they're supposed to swallow, and why the ultimate truth is this: people are usually more focused on the money than the value they give which is where she picked her form because the woman selling for 350 was just posting assuming everyone knew what the product does when people didn't know, but when she came in teaching ladies how to take care of themselves and using the product in addition to that care, when she gave knowledge that African homes don't teach, when she showed up on TikTok not to dance but to educate, when she learned everything from YouTube and the internet without waiting for courses or teachers, when she researched ingredients and used her own products, when she didn't care about haters saying she didn't make 800K because the money was in her account proving her value was real, she wasn't just selling products, she was solving problems and teaching solutions, and that's the only way to build a business that lasts because no one cares about what you're selling until you show them why they need it. Guest: Charity Boateng Host: Derrick Abaitey

From childhood neglect and being too scared to talk to her mother to building a feminine hygiene empire where pricing for sustainability instead of approval is the difference between five years in business with nothing to show and three years of explosive growth, and why the brutal truth about small business success is that you can't pity yourself and tell the world no one is buying from you because people don't want to buy from struggling businesses, they want to know why everyone is buying from you, the young entrepreneur who grew up in an African home where parents don't teach feminine hygiene because they don't even know it themselves, where being bullied and not being heard and nobody sitting you down to understand your problems created a drive to be seen and heard that translated into wanting financial success, the university graduate who left her job and was so broke she stayed with friends who had illegal electricity connections and collected AC water drops in a small barrel just to bathe, the first three weeks selling 500 products on Snapchat and then nothing for months but instead of quitting she invested in influencers and made 25,000 cedis in 24 hours, the decision to go to China for packaging that would entice people's eyes and not get thrown away in their homes because she wasn't getting the quality she wanted in Ghana, the 2000 orders in three days during a sales period proving you don't need a physical shop if you show up online consistently and build trust with your authentic self, the realization that not everyone is your customer and you need to price for sustainability not approval because if you're selling a product for 70 cedis that costs 50 cedis plus packaging plus transportation you're making nothing while someone who prices at 100 cedis and knows how to market sells 500 to 600 pieces in months, the brutal reality that small business owners like to pity themselves saying no one is buying today which sends customers away instead of making people believe they are buying because curiosity about why people are patronizing your business is what attracts new customers, the international expansion shipping to US, Canada, UK, Germany and traveling to Nigeria because the vision was never just a business that wakes up and sells but an international brand that makes waves, the doctors in hospitals who recommend patients to her business because the products actually work and solve real problems African homes don't teach, the customers who fight for her like an army because she connected them to her journey and showed up in her most authentic self not always premium and proper, the China trip where she learned one packaging bag size required 1000 minimum pieces and she needed five sizes meaning 5000 to 10000 pieces which is impossible if you're pricing so low you're not making good money, the advice that changed everything: don't price for approval, price for sustainability because your business needs funds not just profits to push to the next level, the discipline over motivation approach because while customer smiles and solving their problems motivates her, discipline is what pushes her to show up every single day, and why the ultimate truth is this: you don't need to get everything perfect before you start, the packaging doesn't have to be flawless, you don't need a physical shop if you build your online presence well so when people see your page they have no doubts about bringing their money to you, you work on your own timeline not someone else's, you go through the process without rushing because if you're not in a hurry to get a shop and you focus on showing up consistently online you can make 2000 orders in three days, but you must stop being scared to price well, stop trying to make everyone your customer, stop pitying yourself and telling the world no one is buying, because when you price for sustainability, when you're selective about your customer base, when you make it fun and make people believe they need your product, when you understand that people adapt and come back for good products even if the price is slightly above their budget, when you read books like Famio Tadalai's with an open mind focusing on consistency and knowing what you're doing instead of complaining about head starts, you're not just building a business, you're creating an empire that ships internationally, gets recommended by doctors, and proves that discipline, authenticity, and strategic pricing are what separate struggling businesses from thriving ones. Guest: Charity Boateng Host: Derrick Abaitey

From 500 products sold in three weeks on Snapchat to 90% of sales driven by TikTok, and why the brutal truth about social selling success is that you can't just post products and expect people to buy because nobody cares about your shoes or your MacBook unless you show them why they need it, how to style it, and what problem it solves in their lives, the first 24 hours when one product posted on Snapchat with one paid influencer brought 100+ orders and 20,000 cedis in sales proving that giving value instead of just posting products is what makes people ready to pay immediately, the supplier who was tired after one day because she was just putting products in rubber bags and sending them out when a product of that magnitude requires proper packaging and branding, the moment when customers were getting angry and going back to influencers saying she scammed them because she took their money but products were sold out and she didn't know how to pause orders, the bold move of ordering 10,000 pieces instead of 3,000 when she realized people were ready to wait and pay if she communicated properly, the Instagram search for wholesale suppliers, designers, containers, and stickers because everything needed to be done fast when customers had no patience, the 80,000 cedis invested in influencer marketing to make sure her feminine hygiene products were on the minds and lips of people even when Snapchat kept deleting her accounts due to competition reporting her, the 600 WhatsApp messages in one day from customers looking for her when she moved platforms because she had built trust by teaching not just selling, the transition to TikTok in 2024 that changed everything because she wasn't there to dance and fool around but to sit down and tell ladies what they need to hear about feminine hygiene, the celebrities, pastors' wives, and mothers who patronize her because they had no idea about the things she talks about and wanted to learn, the 12 to 15 FDA approved products now in her catalog with plans to start her own production of feminine washes after traveling to China to find manufacturers who understood her specific ingredients and target customers, the trip to China where she insisted on a sample phase and FDA approval before committing to large scale production because she's not rushing the process, the decision to move from reselling other brands' feminine washes to creating her own Femlux branded products starting with paw biotech, the TikTok strategy that now drives 90 to 95% of sales compared to the Snapchat era when she had to pay influencers consistently, and why the ultimate truth is this: every product has value whether it's clothes, shoes, cameras, or feminine hygiene, but if you're just posting products without teaching people how to style the clothes, which shoes match which dress, why a camera has better quality than a phone, or why feminine hygiene matters and how to take care of yourself, then no one really cares because you're selling not serving, but when you give value first, when you make customers feel like whatever they're going through you've been through it too, when you're explicit and confident about topics Ghanaians are scared to mention, when you invest 80,000 cedis to put your brand on people's minds and lips, when you teach instead of dance on TikTok, when you show phone camera versus real camera quality or tell business owners why they need an iPad, you're not just building a business, you're creating a community that will find you on WhatsApp when Snapchat deletes your account, that will wait and pay when products are sold out, that will grow your sales from 20,000 in 24 hours to a brand expanding into its own production because value is the basis of every business. In this raw episode of Konnected Minds, host Derrick Abaitey sits down with Charity Boateng, the founder of Femlux who dismantles the dangerous "just post your products on social media and wait for sales" mentality that keeps small business owners stuck with zero engagement, revealing the exact moment when posting one feminine hygiene product on Snapchat with one paid influencer brought 100+ orders and 20,000 cedis in 24 hours because she wasn't just selling, she was teaching ladies why they need the product and giving them knowledge they never had, when the supplier got tired after one day and she had to think on her feet ordering 10,000 pieces instead of 3,000 even though customers were angry thinking she scammed them, when competition started reporting her Snapchat accounts and she moved to WhatsApp getting 600 messages in one day from customers looking for her because she had invested 80,000 cedis in influencer marketing to put her brand on people's minds and lips. Guest: Charity Boateng Host: Derrick Abaitey

In this raw episode of Konnected Minds, host Derrick Abaitey sits down with Ama Burland, the popular influencer and founder of Diya Organics who dismantles the dangerous wait until you're perfect before you post content mentality that keeps young people broke and afraid, revealing the exact moment when 10 bottles of hair oil she made for free and posted on YouTube sold out in 30 minutes after a scandal made her want to kill herself, when she struggled for two years not making money because she started with plenty orders and had to beg 20 customers when delivery services embarrassed her, when she shut down her skincare business because someone burned their face with African black soap they left on for 15 minutes instead of one minute. Guest: Ama Burland Business: https://www.shopdiyaorganics.com/shop Host: Derrick Abaitey IG: https://www.instagram.com/derrick.abaitey YT: https://www.youtube.com/@DerrickAbaitey Join Konnected Academy: https://www.triibe.io/konnected-academy Listen to the podcast on: Apple Podcast - http://tinyurl.com/4ttwbdxe Spotify - http://tinyurl.com/3he8hjfp Join this channel: /@konnectedminds FOLLOW ► https://linktr.ee/konnectedminds #Podcast #businesspodcast #AfricanPodcast #ghanapodcast

From childhood neglect and carrying water on her head at 18 to building a business empire where family decisions now pass through her first, and why the brutal truth about entrepreneurial success is that the drive to be seen, to be heard, and to never go back to those days of selling gobe by the roadside and living with people who never listened to your problems creates the kind of relentless hunger that turns restriction into freedom, the young girl who wanted to be a journalist until a conversation in SHS about an uncle in construction making a lot of money made her realize she likes money because money equals freedom, the childhood of growing up with different people getting different types of treatment and being scared of a mother so hard that you couldn't go to her with problems, the father who was soft but you couldn't reach because of the mother's presence, the siblings she didn't grow up with so there was no one to talk to, the 14 year old who went to SHS and never went back home, who stayed with her big sister who was mostly not there giving her freedom to be alone and do things on her own, the level headed young woman who didn't misbehave despite having no attention from parents or the people she stayed with, the prayers for attention that never came so she decided if they're not giving it to me I want to be alone, the realization that parents don't know her well which is why her mom was against her coming to Accra thinking she would engage in prostitution because that's the perception about Accra, the desire for attention that translated into wanting to become financially successful so people would finally pay attention to her needs, the discovery that she can speak to people, teach, set up the camera and talk about stuff because she wants to be seen and heard and people don't even have what's in her head, the tough journey of working very early in life selling gobe and food by the roadside, carrying water on her head from 18 something straight to Risk Cause back and forth knowing how it feels and wanting to be someone who doesn't have to remember those times again, the bad side of being alone since 14 which makes her keep to herself and struggle with networking because she's always at home working not able to go out and meet people, the good side that made her tough and pushed her to want freedom so much she was tired of being with people, the pride in getting here because no one got her there except her and God, the overspending that makes friends say live there she has been through a lot, the transformation from the girl no one listened to into the woman whose opinion family now seeks before making any decision, and why the ultimate truth is this: not being heard as a child, never having attention from parents, being too scared of your mother to share problems, experiencing different types of mistreatment from people you stayed with, all of that neglect and restriction doesn't break everyone, it creates some people who say I want my freedom, I want to be seen, I want to be heard, and when they discover business lets them teach and speak and show people what's in their head, when making money gives them the respect that makes family finally call them for decisions, when financial success means never carrying water on your head again or selling by the roadside, they push through with relentless hunger because the alternative is going back to those days of being invisible, and if they become parents they'll show their kids how to love themselves, pay attention to them, make them friends not make them afraid, because they know what happens when a child has no one to talk to and has to keep everything inside. In this raw episode of Konnected Minds, host Derrick Abaitey sits down with Charity Boateng, an entrepreneur who dismantles the dangerous "money doesn't matter" mentality by revealing the exact moment when she realized at 14 years old that if parents and the people she stayed with weren't going to give her the attention she prayed for she wanted to be alone, when going to SHS and never going back home meant living with her big sister who was mostly not there giving her freedom to do things on her own, when family decisions that once happened without her now pass through her first because financial success finally gave her the voice and respect she never had growing up scared of a mother so hard you couldn't share your problems. Guest: Charity Boateng Host: Derrick Abaitey

From AC water for bathing to building an international feminine hygiene empire, and why the brutal truth about business success is that you can't be motivated by money alone because when the orders stop coming in the third month and you're broke living off illegal electricity connections, only passion for solving a real problem will keep you going, the childhood of being bullied, not being heard, not being listened to, nobody sitting you down to understand your problems, growing up in an African home where parents don't teach feminine hygiene because they don't even know it themselves, the mother who didn't want her daughter working in shops because she feared people would laugh at her, wanting the suit and tie 9 to 5 government job instead of the entrepreneurial path that actually creates freedom, the university graduate searching for jobs after national service who would have been miserable five, six, seven years later still looking for employment, the moment after leaving her job when she stayed with friends and they were so broke they couldn't afford to fill their water tanks so they collected water drops from the AC using a small barrel just to bathe, the first three weeks selling 500 products and then nothing, the third month when orders stopped coming but instead of quitting she sat down and asked how can I do this better, the decision to reach out to influencer Dorsey and pay 2,500 cedis for promotional advice when she didn't even have a business name yet, the 24 hours after Dorsey's promotion that brought 25,000 cedis in sales, the bold move of taking that same money and paying Dorsey for one full month, then another month, then another because the vision wasn't just a business that wakes up and sells but an international brand that makes waves, the FDA approval battles blocking products that could help thousands of women because regulations say even pharmacies with knowledge about certain products aren't allowed to sell them, the doctors in hospitals who recommend patients to her business because they know the products work, the international expansion shipping to US, Canada, UK, Germany and traveling to Nigeria to grow the business there, the thousands of recommendations that proved success comes when your products are in the minds and on the lips of people not from posting today and expecting to blow tomorrow, and why the ultimate truth is this: if you're just motivated by money you'll move from one business to another the moment sales drop, but if you have passion for solving a real problem like feminine hygiene education that African homes don't teach, if you're willing to put all your money back into the business when others would take it out, if you understand that creating freedom for women and passing on knowledge that helps them see results is fulfilling a purpose bigger than profit, if your parents are finally proud even though they once wanted you in a suit working 9 to 5 instead of building an empire, then you're not just running a business, you're changing lives and proving that the uncomfortable path of entrepreneurship beats the misery of five years searching for jobs that never come. In this raw episode of Konnected Minds, host Derrick Abaitey sits down with Charity Boateng, the founder of an international feminine hygiene brand who dismantles the dangerous "start a business for quick money" mentality that makes people quit after three months of slow sales, revealing the exact moment when she was so broke after leaving her job that she stayed with friends who had illegal electricity connections and they collected AC water drops in a small barrel just to bathe, when sales stopped coming in the third month but instead of giving up she invested 2,500 cedis in influencer Dorsey and made 25,000 cedis in 24 hours, when doctors started recommending patients to her business because the products actually work and solve real problems African homes don't teach. Guest: Charity Boateng Host: Derrick Abaitey

From three years of job rejections to building a distribution business on credit and integrity, and why the brutal truth about Ghana's job market is that it's a cartel where 90% of positions are filled internally before they're even posted, the young entrepreneur who grew up without a father but with a grandmother and auntie paying school fees while his shopkeeper mom provided breakfast money and pocket change, the university student who couldn't afford hostel accommodation so he slept in a chapel dormitory for three years sharing a room with three people just to complete his degree in business administration, the vacation visits to his grandmother's sister who was a distributor for three big FMCG companies in Ghana where he learned the business of moving consumer goods before she died in 2016, the realization that white collar jobs don't pay in Ghana when the job search turned into rejection after rejection and calls to aunties asking for help securing employment turned into "we'll get back to you" stories that never materialized, the inspiration from Mr. Simpi, the big money man he was named after who had his own business because every Simpi in Ghana didn't wait for someone else to make things happen for them, the decision to pull his own weight and work his own things out instead of waiting for family connections or government jobs that never come, the family business background that taught him how to brand products, how to sell products, how to identify suppliers and look for people to buy, the distribution knowledge gained from watching his grandmother's sister move goods worth hundreds of thousands of cedis proving that money in Ghana is in trade not in white collar office jobs, and why the ultimate truth is this: growing up in a family where people tried to work their own things out, where you're not provided with everything but you're expected to pull your own weight, where sleeping in a chapel dormitory for three years because hostel fees weren't available teaches you resilience, where watching market women buy goods worth 100,000 cedis and pay cash while university graduates sit home waiting for 800 cedi monthly salaries proves the system isn't giving way for the average youth to think beyond employment, creates the kind of young person who says "I actually need to work my own things" and builds a distribution business solving problems in Koforidua and Eastern Region because the Simpi name means you don't wait for someone, you create your own path. In this raw episode of Konnected Minds, host Derrick Abaitey sits down with Kinsley Opoku Simpi, a young entrepreneur who dismantles the dangerous "wait for family connections to get you a job" mentality that keeps graduates stuck in three year job searches, revealing the exact moment when sleeping in a chapel dormatory for three years sharing a room with three people because hostel accommodation wasn't available taught him that comfort doesn't build character, when vacation visits to his grandmother's sister who distributed FMCG products for three big companies showed him that money is in trade not in white collar jobs, when calls to aunties asking for help securing employment turned into "we'll get back to you" promises that forced him to realize he needed to work his own things out just like every other Simpi in Ghana who built their own businesses instead of waiting for someone else. Guest: Kinsley Opoku Simpi Host: Derrick Abaitey

From sanitation business opportunities to distribution logistics to the brutal truth about why coming down your ego and showing up every day at every customer's shop is the only way to build a business that lasts, the Koforidua sanitation problem where they have nowhere to dump refuse because the dump site is full creating an opportunity for someone to buy a tricycle, visit 100 houses every morning collecting refuse at five cedis per house making real money that nobody wants to touch because they want white collar office jobs, the logistics challenge of using Mr. Frempong's pickup truck that gets stopped at police barriers because it's loaded beyond the legal limit proving that transportation is the bottleneck when demand is higher than supply capacity, the warehouse expansion problem because the business is growing so fast that storage space is running out, the competitors who don't know where to get the product but try to be smart and steal customers anyway, the loyal customers like the woman and Antinana who called to say "some people brought some of your brand but we told them you are here so we buy from them" proving that relationships and showing up every day builds loyalty that competitors can't break, the Christmas move of buying goods and supplying them to all 180 customers including people he had never seen before because some customers he only met for the first time when he delivered the Christmas goods to Akyiatia, the daily routine of visiting every customer in Koforidua every single day because doing business with your presence and doing business with your absence are two completely different things, the Akyiatia trip where customers refused to give money to his sales person saying "if he has traveled he would be back, when he comes we will pay" proving that being present is the only way to collect payments in a market where money issues are common, the grandmother's advice to "come down your ego and money will look for you" like the driver playing loud music who gets angry when a passenger asks him to lower it and the passenger gets down losing the driver money in that moment, the best advice from Mr. Frempong to "just be truthful, don't spoil your reputation because that's why I stood for you from the start, that's why they brought the goods, so don't disappoint me," the motivation over discipline approach because gathering 180 customers in one and a half years when it's difficult for a customer to change their supplier means doing something exceptional like going to their shops to help them sell and fostering good relationships, the decision to leave friends behind and only keep one childhood friend Debenezer because if you call him it must be about things that will make him someone in the future, legit business investment opportunities, not here or there nonsense, and why the ultimate truth is this: there are so many problems in Ghana people can solve whether it's sanitation in Koforidua or distribution of essential goods, money is in Ghana but they don't like the dirty work, they want to be in offices earning 800 a month when that sanitation business visiting 100 houses a day at five cedis per house is actually a lot of money, but you must be present every day, visit your customers, help them sell, build relationships, and understand that being there and not being there is two different things. In this raw episode of Konnected Minds, host Derrick Abaitey sits down with a young entrepreneur who dismantles the dangerous "I need a white collar office job to make money" mentality that keeps graduates stuck waiting for 800 cedi monthly salaries, revealing the exact moment when loyal customers in Antinana called to say competitors brought his brand but they refused to buy because "you are here so we buy from you," when visiting every customer in Koforidua every single day built relationships so strong that customers in Akyiatia refused to pay his sales person saying "when he comes we will pay" because presence is everything in a market where money issues are common, when buying goods and supplying them to all 180 customers at Christmas including people he had never seen before proved that generosity and relationship building create loyalty competitors cannot break. Host: Derrick Abaitey

From three years of job rejections to building a distribution business on credit and integrity, and why the brutal truth about Ghana's job market is that it's a cartel where 90% of positions are filled internally before they're even posted, the assistant brand manager interview at Verbe Company in 2023 where he qualified for the second stage but the hiring manager resigned and five months later they reposted the job and rejected him again proving the system isn't fair to youth looking for their financial breakthrough, the sales manager interview where he answered all the questions but the manager refused to answer two simple questions about a new brand saying "I'll only answer when you're part of us" which triggered the realization that "I need to start doing something different myself because how I think is different from how they are thinking," the moment he got rejected for a manager position and then rejected again for a sales executive role at the same company even though he had the qualifications and they weren't asking for experience, the reality that white collar jobs don't pay in Ghana and money is in trade because you can go to the market and see market women who can buy goods worth 100,000 cedis and pay cash with no higher education while graduates sit home waiting for government jobs that never come, the decision to accept 1,000 cedis salary from a man just to get working experience and build a brand from scratch moving from market to market trying to convince customers to buy when it's difficult for a customer to change suppliers because of existing relationships, the woman at Abowa who said "this woman will help me achieve my target" after he kept showing up at her shop every single day until she finally bought five packs and told him "go here, go here, go here, tell them Abowa said she'll come" which opened doors to 10 new customers in one day, the liquidity issues between his boss and the company that cut supply and left him home for two months until his friend Debenezer said "Kinsley, go for it" standing at the roadside, the call to the money manager saying "I want to handle the distribution with my boss's consent but I don't have money to buy the goods, if you give me a week I will sell and bring you the money," the integrity move of dividing profits with his boss and paying the company on time which built trust so they increased credit from one week to two weeks, the customer Mr. Patrick at Suapre Point who said "if you want to start something for yourself I have a warehouse, bring your goods in," and why the ultimate truth is this: the system in Ghana is not giving way for the average youth to think beyond white collar jobs, the unemployment rate is higher than jobs available, recruitment is like a cartel where they already have someone they want to pick and use interviews as formality, jobs posted online are 90% for internal recruitment and they only go outside when they want top manager positions like marketing manager or director, but if you're willing to build relationships, show up every day, sell on credit, pay back on time, and operate with integrity even when liquidity is tight, you can turn zero capital into a distribution business that grows because customers need the product and suppliers trust you to deliver. In this raw episode of Konnected Minds, host Derrick Abaitey sits down with a young entrepreneur who dismantles the dangerous "wait for a white collar job to save you" mentality that keeps graduates stuck in three year job searches, revealing the exact moment when getting rejected for an assistant brand manager position at Verbe Company after qualifying for the second stage, then seeing them repost the job five months later and reject him again, then getting rejected for a sales manager role and rejected again for a sales executive position at the same company proved the system is a cartel where HR departments are friends with recruitment agencies and 90% of jobs are filled internally before they're posted. Host: Derrick Abaitey