We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Abby Ayoola-Williams. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Abby below.

Alright, Abby thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

What it takes to be successful is being open-minded to learning, consistency, time management, knowing your why and knowing your worth.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I first started my entrepreneurship journey in 2015 when i started selling waist trainers out of necessity. I had just gotten fired from my job raising 3 children under the age of 8 at that time. I have since added a flat tummy tea to my product line also and I made a conscious effort to work for myself since then and I have never looked back since. I have authored over 30 books and journals. I co-started a reality show called Naija Wives, which is a reality show that follows the lives of Nigerian women living in the disapora. We started the Toronto version 3 years ago and the Hollywood version in 2022. We will be expanding into different cities like Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and many more. I founded Mom’s Ultimate Guide which is a quarterly lifestyle magazine for mothers than focuses on mental health, food, fashion and parenting. I am the Producer and host of How to survive society which is a weekly podcast that give survivors the platform to share their stories. The problems that I solve for my clients whether you’re tapped into my health and wellness products, podcast, book, journal and magazine is giving mothers and young girls hope that no matter what life has thrown your way or no matter where you grew up, you can achieve anything you put your mind to. I am currently a mother to 6 beautiful children and I run a few businesses so if I can create time to take care of myself physically, mentally and financially, then there is no excuse for anyone who is looking to build or a business or start a family. You can do whatever you put your mind to as long as you know what you want from life and what your goals are. I want to inspire, instill hope and let people know that you can have it all.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I funded my business through self funding. I started my entrepreneur journey in 2015 by selling waist trainers. I buy waist trainers from my suppliers and resell them to my customers. Sometimes you just have to use your funds to start a business, then use the profit you earned from the business to invest in your businesses. Ownership is key and you have to be aware of vultures and people that are looking to take advantage of you, so you have make sure you invest in yourself and your business.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I started a food show in 2014 called Dine With Abby where i interviewed chefs about the recipes that they are cooking and their back stories. Back in 2018, I partnered up with another food company to do a series of plant based cooking classes. We got the cooking classes on the way and from there we got a great idea to start a new company together and offer plant based meal kits locally, but i wanted the company to grow fast and cover more ground but my partner at the time didn’t want the company to grow fast so she left the company and I was left with the company. I couldn’t continue the meal kit idea by myself so I started offering pop up dinners and then covid hit and I had to stop the pop up dinners. During the pandemic, I wasn’t sure if I should continue with the company or call it quits so i thought long and hard about it, then decided to pass the company down to my daughter while I focus on my other companies. Now my daughter has turned the company into a digital food and beverage magazine and also a food show. Sometimes knowing when to let go of a company can do wonderful things for your mental health. Now my daughter is running her own business at the age of 14 and I am so proud and happy that I am able to pass down one of my companies to her.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.howtosurvivesociety.com
• Instagram: @abbyayoola @howtosurvivesct @naijawivesoftoronto @naijawivesofhollywood
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbyayoola
• Youtube: @abbyayoola

Image Credits
Williamsimages for all the other pictures Cover image by Beneunaturals