The loss of my triplets in February 2014 got me re-evaluating my perspective on life. Although we never met (Jesse, Jayden and Jordan), the experience with the boys is the reason I am where I am. I have become more compassionate and more considerate of the feelings of others. I have come to the realisation that there is more to life and that was the start of my risk taking journey. My friends would testify that I was a quiet and risk averse person.
We chanced on the Instagram account of OMT’s Digest when Opie shared a bit about herself on her business page Samaw Kidz. From there we realized we had a lot in common when it came to the purpose and vision of our blogs. Especially in this era where collbaoration is the way to go we didnt find any better time to start working on something for mothers in business than this time. Remember the saying that, When women come together great things happen!
Enjoy our short interview with Opie as she shares with us her passion and what led to the beginning of OMT’s Digest! A blog she runs so professionally.
Brief profile of yourself.
I am referred to as Mawuena by friends who have known me from birth till tertiary and after tertiary my name switched to my first name, Ophelia (not my preferred choice though). This was as a result of my first day of work orientation at the audit firm I used to work with. The white partner found it easier to recall Ophelia than Mawuena and it got stuck with clients and colleagues. Ophelia still sounds weird when I hear my pre-tertiary friends use it.lol
That was just by the way. I am a blogger who is passionate about empowering and supporting women, helping and guiding working mothers to start side gigs, coaching and mentoring the youth and sharing the story of African entrepreneurs to inspire others and eventually change the African narrative a post at a time through my blog OMT’s Digest.
I am quiet but can be a talkative when you get to know me and when I am engaged in topics I am passionate about. I have two kids, a 5 and a 3 year old mini bosses.
Now that you have an idea of who I am, whenever you spot me anywhere on and offline, just call me Mawuena or Opie!
What work do you do? Career, side gigs
I quit work because of the flexibility I needed. I currently provide freelance writing and editing services.
I also run a hobby gig called Samaw Kidz, customising kids tees for birthdays, milestones celebrations and for fun too! We also assist with gift packages for your kids based on your budget.
I am a business partner for Da Barberz, a grooming shop located at Kwabenya where we provide haircut, manipedis, massage and make-up services in addition to laundry and sale of barbering equipment.
I also do volunteer youth mentoring and coaching when I have the time and I run an accounting, audit and tax consultancy with my partner.
Motivation behind OMT’s Digest
The loss of my triplets in February 2014 got me re-evaluating my perspective on life. Although we never met (Jesse, Jayden and Jordan), the experience with the boys is the reason I am where I am. I have become more compassionate and more considerate of the feelings of others. I have come to the realisation that there is more to life and that was the start of my risk taking journey. My friends would testify that I was a quiet and risk averse person.
OMT pronounced O.M.T. and not “omt” initially started with the purpose to share the story of my stillbirth and motivate other mothers or mothers to be that there was still hope. I have shared bits and pieces of the story but I am yet to write out the series of posts to tell the full story.
My experience forced me to assess my life and through engagements with other mothers I was inspired to push women into entrepreneurship no matter how small the gig may be, the important aspect is the push to start! In the process I also discovered I love to listen to and share inspirational stories and experiences of young entrepreneurs and the journey of parenthood.
How do you juggle work with family?
Its crazy! Not an easy one I must admit. There are days you feel all empowered and there are days you practically have to drag yourself to get things done. The support of my husband, mother and siblings have been helpful especially on days when I have to step out and make some rounds.
At other times they tag along like the way women carry their hand bags everywhere so I always call them my “little handbags”..lol
I will say the only way is to keep going, take it a day at a time and stay focused on your goals too, that way you don’t easily give up when you are stressed. Asking for help or relying on nannies does not make you less of a mother.
Most stressful day in your life as a mompreneurhmmmmmm as for this one I will never forget. I took on a freelance writing gig on an area I had no idea on. Charley I read and researched but still! And the thing too was that I had already accepted the project. I wanted to give it back. I would spend hours drafting just a sentence. The time I had in between dropping my son off and picking both of them from school at the end of the day suddenly felt like a second. I couldn’t sleep and when I eventually made it through, that was the most exciting day of my life!
Lesson: Next time I will assess the challenges well before I decide to take it on. lol
Your favourite quote
Let me focus on these two 🙂
You should try it out, you will never know what may come out of it!
Once there is life, there is hope!
Hobbies
I love to watch movies, listen to music, go sightseeing and crafting.
Advice for a young entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is not an easy journey. It has its ups and downs and without passion and focus you can easily lose hope during the low moments.As for money, its great to have it but when money is the sole focus of your business then I doubt the business will be sustainable.
If you came into this world as an animal, which animal would you be?
It will certainly be a cat! A cat, because they appear gentle and sweet but when you come attacking them they will certainly fight back!
To learn more about what Opie does, get in touch with through her IG page, her website or through email at omtsdigest@gmail.com.
Now to our collaboration! We are having a Mompreneurship session for Moms in Business. We would love you to fill a form using this link with topics of interest! We look forward to having conversaitons on Motherhood and entrepreneurship with you.
Wemompreneurs is an online community for Moms in Business that is set out to inspire, motivate and celebrate mother sin buisness. We are also set out to provide relevant informaiton in relation to business to these women all around the world. We would love to share your Mompreneur story with us, reach us throough wemompreneurs@gmail.com
