Don’t expect others to make things happen for you. You have to dream, wake up and make it a reality, and then you have to empower and inspire the next to do the same. Relevance and determination will always be key in any entrepreneurial journey. You have to allow yourself to fail and most importantly learn from those failures. Don’t ever allow anyone to bust your bubble, even when times may get tough, which they will. You have to allow yourself to grow and time and again sit back and appreciate your blessings. Faith should always center your journey in life and always be thankful for every single blessing no matter how small they may be. Lastly, know your worth, the way you were brought up and always remain humble.”

New kid on the block in the entrepreneurial world and mother of two sons, Ilke Platt-Akwenye, has started young and remains a force to be reckoned with. Not only has she ventured into the unknown but she has taken ownership with her sixteen years-experience in the broadcasting and corporate world. She has inspired many young women and recently shared her thoughts about gender based violence, after being recorded as yet another statistic of GBV. This has not deferred her journey on this new and exciting path but has found her purpose in life. She shares her secret to success and what career advice she holds onto. This may inspire you to follow suit

Being in the broadcasting industry for sixteen years and corporate industry for ten, when I decided to leave my comfort zone, I had a question of purpose.

Why do I wake up in the morning at the same time, completing projects for corporates?

There must be a deeper purpose to life and I need to live in the moment. I have two sons that have given me new meaning of my existence. Having served the insurance industry for close to six years, we always preach about retirement. I see life in the same light, don’t wait for death to regret what you could have done to just live and enjoy the moment with those that matter to you most.

My belated father always told me not to stress about situations, if you stress it won’t change the outcome but only make it worse. My belated mom would always smile and laugh no matter the circumstance and that would change everything. She could sell an ice cube to an Eskimo.

I see many characteristics from my belated parents in me. Every job opportunity that has come my way, I’ve always done more than what was asked and this has helped shape my character as an entrepreneur. Positive attitude is critical as an owner of a business, to allow your team to learn good work ethics. I don’t believe that entrepreneurship is for the faint hearted or those that wait for instructions to be given. It’s for those that are self-driven, not scared to lose it all (conservatively) and willing to follow their hearts no matter what everyone else says or thinks. Here are some of my learnings along the way, which I am constantly still doing:

  1. Start Early. You’re never too young to work. You need to be pro-active and not wait for institutions to tell you to intern. Get your foot through the door as soon as you can
  2. Have a Purpose. When you reach a certain point in your life, work is not the drive to waking up but your purpose.
  3. Empower the next. Building a foundation to inspire the future generation is the most rewarding feeling ever.
  4. Always challenge yourself out of your comfort zone.
  5. Learn from your setbacks. These set backs happen for a reason. They come along your way to either steer your ship in another direction, or to help you soar greater heights.

Lastly, place God first in all you do, appreciate your family and don’t allow material things to drive you.


Follow Ilke’s new business venture Poiya Media on social media:

Twitter: @PoiyahMedia 

Instagram: @poiyamedia

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