I am sure you may have seen my post on me speaking at the
First Lady Conference last week and I was super excited. As promised, I am back
with all the pictures and details about the event and I had an incredible time..
I have actually never spoken publicly about my blog or even blogging for that
matter so I was pretty chuffed about it as you can imagine. The event was held in Jurys Inn in Croydon and I popped over there with my friend and flat mate for support. I had the chance to meet Beatrice (or Bea which is what I call her) who is the founder of this conference for the first time. It's amazing how you feel you know someone even though you 'e never met them. She did an amazing job organising the event and also anchoring which by no means an easy task. There were two speakers before me and a couple of others after me and everyone was very inspirational.
I toyed with the idea of putting together a presentation but I decided against it because I wanted to be as natural as possible (especially as it was my first time). Also, a Screen/Power point presentation would have made me feel like I was at work because I do a whole lot presentations at work. I think I made the best decision as I felt I was talking with my friends/sisters and it was such an incredible experience.
I toyed with the idea of putting together a presentation but I decided against it because I wanted to be as natural as possible (especially as it was my first time). Also, a Screen/Power point presentation would have made me feel like I was at work because I do a whole lot presentations at work. I think I made the best decision as I felt I was talking with my friends/sisters and it was such an incredible experience.
As mentioned earlier, there were so many amazing speakers on the day and two already spoke before me and I felt really inspired listening to them. The first speaker was Vicki Igbokwe (so sorry I don't have any pictures of her but she is the lady with a head wrap in the picture above) and she is the founder of Uchenna Dance (check her website out here). I could totally relate to her story especially as a fellow Nigerian (although I am no dancer by any stretch of imagination). She spoke about following her dreams to get to where she was now and she is really doing great things in the Dance World. At the end of her presentation, we even joined her for a little dance which helped everyone relax. It definitely helped release some tension that was building up just before my presentation.
The next speaker was Morenike Ajayi who had a very inspirational story as well around how she rose in her career and it was amazing listening to her. She has worked in many top organisations including Pricewater Cooper (PWC), Transport for London, Local Authorities, etc. so she is well experienced in dishing out career advice. She shed some light around how we can work hard in our careers and rise to the top. She also has a show called Career Nuggets which I need to watch because she shares some secrets on choosing careers, being successful, etc. I love listening to career driven women who have reached for their dreams despite dodgy circumstances.
I was the third speaker and I honestly felt very relaxed when it was my turn because I felt relaxed listening to the other amazing speakers. The entire atmosphere was very inviting and I did not feel nervous at all. I always say a prayer before any presentation even at work and I am sure that really helped me as always. I spoke about how I got into blogging, why I got into blogging, shared some blogging secrets and how I try to have a work life balance while trying to live my life. It was very comforting seeing my friend/flatmate listening to me and her presence was very well appreciated.
We also had the chance to listen to so many inspiring speakers who I can't remember all their names. Everyone had such an amazing story to share and I know everyone who listened felt inspired (I know I have used the word inspired so much in this ppst but that's exactly how I felt that day) to continue with whatever dream they had left. If there was any message I took from that day, it was to "restart my dream and stop procrastinating". I know I may not look like or sound like it but I am a major procrastinator and it's not pretty. I procrastinate even the tiniest mundane tasks and that need to change especially in the New Year.
I have several dreams and projects I always want to get involved with but I just think of all the excuses which ends up snuffling the idea. Well, all that is changing and I have made some very tiny baby steps and I do hope I can share some of these projects soon. So, if you are a procrastinator (like me) and/or have a dream that you have ended up snuffling away with excuses, the time for you to restart is here and now. No more excuses, are you with me?!! Right let me just chill before I go off on a tangent here.
I have several dreams and projects I always want to get involved with but I just think of all the excuses which ends up snuffling the idea. Well, all that is changing and I have made some very tiny baby steps and I do hope I can share some of these projects soon. So, if you are a procrastinator (like me) and/or have a dream that you have ended up snuffling away with excuses, the time for you to restart is here and now. No more excuses, are you with me?!! Right let me just chill before I go off on a tangent here.
Soon, it was time to have some nibbles and network with everyone else as the event came to a close. Would you believe I came across a fellow Pharmacist who is also into Beauty and Hair at the event? That's not all; she actually went to the same University as me but she graduated a few years ahead of me!! It was incredible and it really reminded me that it is indeed a small world that we live in. I would be talking about her brand in a separate post but I love it already having tested it for a short time. Her name is Elizabeth Salami and she created the Celebrity Premium Hair Brand which I am so impressed with. She also stocks hair products under the Celebrity You brand which are suitable for many hair types especially afro natural hair. I love them because they are natural and organic but as I said my review will be up soon.
I learned so much just from listening and chatting with all these amazing ladies. I even got to meet a really young makeup artist who works with Charlotte Tilbury. Her name is Belky Wara and she is the face behind BELXSLDN. She is only 18 but she has come such a long way and her makeup skills are buff!! She is also set to launch her YouTube channel and posting her first video on Christmas Day (the videos will be live after 25th December 2015 so don't be alarmed if the link does now show any videos yet) . There was also the pretty Laura who is the founder of ILuvbeautybox and owns a successful Beauty and Spa Salon and will be opening a new shop soon in Knightsbridge, London which is super impressive!! I told you everyone there was doing great things and I felt so lucky to be in the midst of these wonderful women.
Then, it was time for a prize draw sponsored by Black Up Cosmetics and two lucky winners received two bags filled with Black Up goodies. I sadly did not win but I was gifted such a generous bag of so many goodies which I am more than excited to try out. There was also a wide array of goodies displayed for people to test and take home with them which I thought was super generous of these sponsors. We had some delicious cup cakes from Flossy Sunday Cakes while we networked and mingled with each other. The cakes from Flossy Sunday tasted amazing and I had the Red Velvet ones because I love red velvet cakes. You can check out Flossy Sunday Cakes over here and they also do deliveries which is amazing!! P.S. how cute are the Flossy Sunday Cards? They have different designs so you can pick whichever you fancy!! You should also check out the Flossy Sunday website which has so many amazing posts and beautiful photography!!
We took some photos (my eyes were closed in these pictures-; can you believe it? Nah me neither!) and had some lovely goodies in our goody bag which I would be reviewing soon. I had an amazing time and I am so glad I took part in the First Lady Conference. I look forward to attending more in the future and I really encourage everyone to attend. I will let you guys know when the next one is scheduled. A massive Thanks to Bea from BeaBea London who put together this amazing event and who kindly invited me. I also have to credit my lovely friend and flat mate for helping me take some of these photos!! I hope you enjoyed reading this post and I will see you in my next.. xx
