Olatorera Oniru, a Nigerian fashion entrepreneur recently authored an inspirational eBook titled “Push Your Dreams.” The author says the book is a collation of motivational extracts from her speaking engagements. The idea, she says, is to motivate youth to aspire to be more. Here, she tells PREMIUM TIMES more about it in this interview.
PT: You are better known as a fashion entrepreneur, why did you decide to author a book?
Olatorera: Entrepreneurs are authors too. We are often called to be speakers, authors and knowledge sharers. Over the years growing Dressmeoutlet have been invited to speak at key events on topics related to Africa’s growth and development. At the majority of these events, attendees have asked, “How can we get your book?”
Despite the heftiness of growing a startup, I had to write a book and to ensure every reader gets the best out of the book; I had to make it innovative. More importantly, I have a strong passion to see every young adult, in Africa and beyond, push his or her dreams.
PT: Why did you decide to make it an electronic book?
Olatorera: The team and I at Olatorera Consultancy Limited wanted the book to be shareable as it is a collation of motivational extracts from my public speaking engagements and key knowledge from business school. For example, one of the extracted pages is “Winning the game of life can be summed up in three words: Love. Learn. Lead”. Another extracted page is “Mother once said work very hard now so that 10 years from now when you and your childhood friends gather for a reunion, you’d have something to show, things to tell or
they’d already know your story.” Readers that resonate very well with these pages may want to share in this digital age through WhatsApp, Facebook and other platforms; thus, the pages have been authored to be concise, straight-to-the-point and shareable across all platforms.
I’ve had some of the pages of “Push Your Dreams” circle back to me socially amongst my allies. People tend to get very excited about the pages that speak to them at that point in time.
PT: How did you arrive at the title?
Olatorera: Push Your Dreams was my response during an interview in 2016 when asked to give advice to upcoming entrepreneurs. The shareable eBook expands on how young people can and should push their dreams. It is important to reach for what you believe in and push to achieve what you are capable of achieving. In saying this, I speak more especially to citizens across Africa. We must overcome every limitation that has hindered growth and higher standards of living. International aid is rightfully decreasing; intra-Africa trade is and should be on the rise. We must find ways to break barriers and catch up with the developed world, innovatively.
PT: What do you hope to achieve with the book?
Olatorera: The aim of the book is to have more young adults across Africa pushing their dreams. I shared what others would consider secrets or competitive advantages and thus not want to share. I shared key knowledge gained over the years that helped me push my dreams and start 2 fast-growing companies within 2 years. I have gained insights ranging from personal growth to negotiations, financial liquidity, entrepreneurship and other business education topics.
PT: What makes your book different from all the other motivational eBooks in the market?
Olaterora: It is not just a motivational book, it is the first digital, shareable motivational book providing key lessons on growing personally and professionally while innovatively aligning with the digital age of sharing content socially. With over 500 million smartphone subscribers in Africa alone, digital content must be innovative and easy to access. Reading through all 365 days of “Push Your Dreams,” will empower readers with the knowledge, confidence and inspiration to achieve their greatest desires. Many will feel as though they just graduated into the educational status of a Master in Business Administration while not having to spend the large amounts of money required getting an Ivy-league degree.
PT: What do you hope to achieve with the book?
Olatorera: I would love to see millions of lives around the world excelling in life and business from the empowerment they would attain from “Push Your Dreams.” I’d love to see Africans leveraging our natural resources more, innovating more, excelling more and pushing our dreams more.
PT: Piracy remains a big setback for e-book authors, especially in Nigeria. What steps have you put in place to prevent a mass duplication?
Olatorera: We have a PDF version of the book. The date the book was produced and released is imprinted in history. Besides that, the book has been intentionally made to be shareable. We do want the knowledge dispersed, to as many people as possible starting with the thousands
that are purchasing full rights to the entire eBook via my website.
PT: Any plans to publish a hard copy of the book?
Olatorera: No, we will not release a hard as it was intentionally made to be digital. The target market is a digital age adult. Although I have quietly authored a second book set to be released within the next few months titled “Ayamahi: The World Needs Africa”. The latter will indeed be the international hard copy not digital. It is an educational romance novel that tells a rich story, through the entertaining and bold life of Ayamahi, of how 40% of the world’s wealthiest people directly or indirectly generate their wealth from Africa yet Africa is the most aid-dependent continent on the planet.
PT: Are you fulfilled?
Olatorera: Very humbly so, yes. Every day I’m fulfilling my dreams of contributing to Africa’s growth. There’s nothing more I’d rather be doing. I push my dreams every single day and I love and enjoy pushing my dreams.
PT: What’s next for you?
Olatorera: Growing Dressmeoutlet and promoting the best of Africa while continuing to be a wife, mother and friend to many.
