A woman of substance: Motivational speaker Liz Wachuka. The managing director and a co-founder of Inner Space Africa Company Ltd, a business management consultancy firm in Dar es Salaam, She is also a trainer, blogger, businesswoman and writer. PHOTO I COURTESY
What you need to know:
Her company deals with brand management, customised corporate training and corporate events management.
Liz Wachuka is a motivational speaker, trainer, blogger, businesswoman, writer and managing director and a co-founder of Inner Space Africa Company Ltd, a business management consultancy firm in Dar es Salaam.
Her company deals with brand management, customised corporate training and corporate events management.
Apart from when schools are closed, my day begins at 5 am and ends at 11 pm. I’m normally at the office by 7:30 am and leaves at 6:30 pm on most days.
In the course of the day I have meetings with clients, liaise with my designers , especially on any ongoing branding projects and also follow up with suppliers to ensure we deliver to our clients on time.
What first got you interested in Inner Space Africa?
I used to work for a certain local ISP as a commercial manager. While at this company, there were some technical challenges that made the services very poor to the point that instead of getting new customers we were losing the existing ones. As a result, I was not able to meet my targets , neither was my team.
The end result was that the CEO decided to slash my salary by 33 per cent, because I had failed to meet my targets.
That was my wake up call. I think that is the motivation I needed. Three months later, my partner and I registered Inner Space Africa and in June 2010, I “fired” my boss and became my own boss.
What do you like best about your job?
If you are to look at what we do, it can be summarised in two words: empowering brands. There is nothing that gives me joy than seeing the glee on a client’s face when he sees the transformation we have made to their brand.
Whether it is in creating a new identity for a new client, or refreshing an existing brand, or empowering the employees to match the brand’s ideals, whatever it is, whenever we touch it you can rest assured it will be transformed.
What challenges do you face?
I could write a book about this. The fact that I am a woman in itself is a challenge. For instance, there have been instances where when I deal with the opposite sex, I have had some of them soliciting for a sexual bribe before they can give me business.
Of course in cases like those I diplomatically let them know that I am not part of the service they are getting from my company. Besides, there is the issue of corruption, so many organisations and companies know we offer quality services but they will not contract us simply because we do not “grease” the palms of the relevant people.
What makes you proud about what you have done so far?
I will be lying to you if I told you it has been an easy time for us. No , it hasn’t. However, for a company that started in our bedroom, with no single coin we have done well.
One other thing I will say is that the bold step I made of quitting work to run this company fulltime is something I am proud of.
What are your personal attributes?
I can describe myself as a very hard working person to the point of being branded a “slave driver”. Besides this, like my mum once said, I don’t quit easily; I always keep trying until something gives – this goes for both my personal life and also my work.
I also like helping and giving to people whenever I can though sometimes by so doing I have been misunderstood.
What advice would you give to anyone interested in following your path?
This is a challenging career that needs a lot of dedication and passion.
If your interest is just for the money, then I suggest you rethink your strategy; but if you are doing it because it is what you love, then by all means take it up.
However, love for the job is not enough. You need to continually motivate yourself and keep focusing on your goals.
