- Tell Us About Yourself and your journey into the Wealth Creation Space
Oludayo Adeniyi,also known as the Abundance Queen, is a Mindset and Wealth Creation Expert, a certified Results and Performance Coach, a certified Knowledge Broker with Tony Robbins and Dean Graziosi, and the founder of Eximious. She believes that everyone deserves abundance and has the power to manifest it.
My journey into the wealth creation space is an interesting one.I grew up with this popular saying “Go to School; get a good grade so you can get a good job”. My understanding was that a good job will give me access to achieve financial freedom. Hence, I took my education seriously because I had big dreams.
I started my career in Human Resources and was pumped up; looking forward to living life on my terms. Upon receiving my first pay cheque, I recallasking myself “how long do I have to work to achieve financial freedom?”This became a major concern resulting in a quest for answer(s).
In my search for answer(s) I committed to take my career seriously and began to climb up the ladder. I was told one of the ways to build wealth is via investments, but due to ignorance I made wrong investment choices. Can you imagine? Instead of making more money, I was losing what I had. It was indeed a terrible place to be. I kept going in cycles.
I remember an experience I had that broke the camel’s back. A friend of mine who was a senior manager in the financial sector was laid-off due to company restructuring. About a month after his exit, he called requesting for a raise. I was shocked and had to engage him. “You had a great job with great pay, why are you already stranded in this short period?” His response was “Dayo, you will not understand”. This was a reality check. I began to ponder if I would be able tosustain my standard of living if anything happen to my job. This made me unsettled.
Also, when my Mum retired after working for 35 years, I inquired about her monthlyannuity. When she told me, I screamed because it was ridiculous. Shesaid assuming she did not have a house or put some plans in place for her retirement, what would have become of her. Will she have to depend on her children solely for her livelihood? She concluded with “the old ways of making money are over, you need to find your path”.
These experiences made me very uncomfortable. I realized that so many working class professionals were plagued with the inability to effectively manage and multiply their money. Many live from paycheque to paycheque and were grossly in debt. I even had colleagues who had expended a year’s salary before receiving the pay. Many were frustrated and their performance at work was affected negatively. There was no time to spend quality time with family. Life was like a voracious cycle without an end.
Stumbling upon two (2) of Robert Kiyosaki’s books,Rich Dad Poor Dadand Cashflow Quadrant, marked the beginning of a new experience for me. It was there I discovered a job, one income stream, alonecannot get me my desired life. I needed to be financially literate. I realized my education and hard work weren’t sufficient to grant me access to the life I truly desired, I needed to unlearn and relearnabout creating wealth. This started my wealth journey. I was excited, I started reading more financial books, learning new skills, attending programs and also gave myself to mentorship.
With the knowledge I garnered, I launched out to help people become financially literate. I started a book club and my first crowd funding scheme in 2016. It was a great experience learning together and becoming more enlightened about our finances. I also ventured into the foreign exchange market, it was a totally new terrain for me. I realized there was so much I did not know. In 2017, I startedthe Learn & Earn Initiative aimed at educating people about the foreign exchange market. Over 500 people were empowered. It was fulfilling seeing people’s lives transform by learning a skillset.
Before my exit from the corporate world in 2018, I was the Chief Operating Officer of a foremost outsourcing company having worked for over a decade. Knowingthe pains and frustrationof many working class professionals, I set out on a mission to educate and empower professionals and entrepreneurs to effectively manage, master and multiply money so they can build wealth and achieve financial freedom. I have also been privileged to speak on different platforms educating and empowering people on how to take charge of their finances and build a wealthy life.
- Is there a visible impact of Wealth Creation in Nigeria?
Absolutely, the wealth of a nation is determined by the wealth of her people. Nigerians are gradually becoming more financially aware and taking their wealth journey more seriously. People are taking charge of their personal finance, creating multiple income streams in form of investments and new businesses.
According to PwC’s Nigeria SME Survey, SMEs contribute 48% of national GDP, accounting for 96% of businesses and 84% of employment. As more SMEs are established, more jobs are created thereby impacting the unemployment rate in the country.
- What are the challenges you faced in choosing this career path?
When I chose this path, one of the challenges I faced was that a few of my friends were worried that I was leaving the known for the unknown, which was understandable. However, I had the full support of my family which was all I needed.
Also, launching out wasn’t easy because there was a lot of resistance from people as it was a relatively new terrain, but people are gradually seeing the need to embrace wealth creation strategies as there is no security in a job or a single income stream.
- What is the future of Wealth?
Well, I will say the future of wealth is digital. In recent times, we have seen fortune 500 companies buying into the Cryptocurrency space. The industry is raising millionaires and multi-millionaires daily. According to Forbes, we had about 500 new billionaires making it to Forbes list about a year ago. That is a billionaire every 17 hours and we had 3 emerging from the Cryptocurrency space.
I also see more deployment of financial & investments Apps and use of Artificial Intelligence which will further simplify investments. This will grant easier entry for new investors.
The beauty about the digital spaceis that it provides a level playing ground for everyone to build wealth. Everyone is now at an advantage. It’s no longer about formal education, gender, experience or age it’s about having the right mindset, being open to new opportunities and learning high income skills that can help create wealth.
I strongly believe our educational system needs a revamp. Financial literacy should become part of the curriculum because the best time to start learning about investments is at an early stage in life. Parents also have a role to play in this. The school can’t be solely entrusted with this responsibility. All hands must be on deck. The new generation must be adequately prepared for the realities of the new economy.
- What are the strategies adopted to create awareness?
My strategy includes organizing seminars, workshops, bootcamps and coaching programs to educate and empower people with the right skills to master, manage and multiply money, so they can achieve financial freedom.
We just concluded the Wealth Mastery Bootcamp in September. It was a 30 days program that focused on educating participants to manage, master and multiply money.
We also have “Project 1000” which is aimed at empowering 1000 families with relevant skills to create wealth in the digital space. Currently, we have been able to work with about 200 families. Empowering one family is like empowering an average of 4 people, that is indirectly impacting 4000 people.
Final words
You cannot afford to put your financial success in the hands of anyone, whether the government, employer or parents. You must take full responsibility. The day you take charge is the day you begin your journey to financial freedom. Also, do not be afraid to seek help on your wealth journey, this will save you time and unnecessary struggles. Always remember that Abundance is your birthright, do not settle for less.