June 12, 2025 • 71 mins
What happens when life takes you thousands of miles from home to a country you never planned to stay in? For Jolanda, what began as a four-year assignment in Ghana with her husband and young children in 1995 transformed into a 30-year journey of building a life, family, and thriving business in West Africa.
Her story begins with culture shock – the crowded airport, the unfamiliar sounds of frogs in drainage gutters, and the simplicity of life in 1990s Accra. Yet within these challenges, she discovered the warmth of Ghanaian people and opportunities that wouldn't have been possible in her native Italy. As Jolanda navigated motherhood in a foreign country, she progressed from administrative roles at the British High Commission to leadership positions in Ghana's growing real estate sector.
The turning point came unexpectedly in 2014 when a breast cancer diagnosis forced her to resign from her position. Instead of retreating, she used this challenging period to envision her future, founding Akka Kappa Limited while recovering. Her company now manages over 1,300 property listings and has earned international recognition for excellence.
What sets Jolanda's approach apart is her unwavering commitment to customer experience. She shares candid insights about the challenges of maintaining high standards in a service business, the importance of continuous staff training, and how passion must be paired with discipline for success. Her observations about workforce development in Ghana are particularly valuable for anyone building teams in emerging markets.
Beyond business wisdom, this conversation reveals profound truths about family, resilience, and creating opportunity. From raising multilingual children to navigating healthcare challenges abroad, Jolanda demonstrates how adversity can become a catalyst for growth. Her advice to follow your passion resonates whether you're considering an international move or simply facing a career crossroads.
Subscribe to Konnected Minds Podcast for more stories of resilience and entrepreneurship from visionaries shaping business landscapes around the world. Join us at our first live event on August 29th at the British Council – details in the description below.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I've never gone outside Europe.
It was my first time in Africa.
It was really a bit of anadventure.
The first impression that I hadwas how there were so many
people sitting on the groundoutside the airport.
You could be standing here andsee the people arriving there,
collecting the suitcases and getout Something that you wouldn't
(00:22):
see in Europe or another partof the world.
When I came to Ghana, the ideawas to stay for four years.
My husband was the projectmanager for the Ridge Tower and
at that time there was nothingin Ridge other than the city
house and the total house.
The rest was bush.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
There must have been a moment in your time here where
you were thinking ah, maybe Iwant to go.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Well, if you look at Ghana in 1995, when I came, and
where we are today, there are somany opportunities, everything
is so simple and you clink withpeople with no problems, while
in Europe or in Italy it takesmore time before you make
friends, before somebody trustsyou, and so on.
One of the biggest positivesabout Ghana are the Ghanaian
(01:12):
people.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Hello, and welcome to another episode of Connected
Minds Podcast, where we delveinto the stories of visionaries
shaping the business landscape.
Today, we have the privilege ofspeaking with Jolanda, a
trailblazer who transformed herjourney from a foreigner in
Ghana to a leading figure in thecountry's real estate sector.
(01:41):
In 1995, jolanda relocated toGhana with her family, embracing
a new culture and environment.
Starting her career in realestate as a novice, she gained
invaluable experience workingwith a prominent firm.
By 2015, her entrepreneurialspirit led her to establish
(02:02):
Akakapa Limited, a dynamic realestate agency in Accra.
Under her leadership, akakapahas grown to manage over 1,300
property listings, offeringservices that range from sales,
letting, relocation, managementand then also consultancy.
Yolanda's dedication andinnovation approach has earned
(02:23):
her the recognition, includingthe International Property Award
for Best Real Estate Agencysingle office in Ghana.
Her story is one of resilience,adaptation and visionary
leadership.
Join us today as we explore herjourney, the challenges she
overcame and the insights she isoffering to aspiring
(02:45):
entrepreneurs.
Remember, this lady moved toGhana 30 years ago.
She has made it work all theseyears.
Now today's conversation isreally to delve into what she
has gone through over the years.
What can you learn from her?
Sit with me and do not changethe screen.
(03:05):
My name is Derek Abayte.
Thank you, jolanda, you'rewelcome.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Thank you so much for accepting to sit with me.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
No, I say thank you I really appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
As I say, anytime I reach out to a guest and they
spend time with me, I'm alwaysready to learn, always ready to
listen, and I appreciate it somuch.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Yeah, you're welcome.
I hope I'll be able to sharesome information that are
helpful for you and for others.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Amazing.
So that post I saw on LinkedInwhere they mentioned that you
had been in Ghana for the past30 years and you didn't just,
you know, come to the country,you decided to also set up a
business that support people torelocate as well.
Yeah, and I thought that wasbeautiful.
Take me through your story.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Well, when I came, when we came, my husband and I
and the children at that time Iwas not working, of course,
right, and my husband was bornin Nigeria.
He's Italian, but he was bornin Nigeria, so Africa was
already in the in the picture.
And he had already worked inGhana for a few years, between
(04:17):
87 to 89, and, yes, no, 85 to 89.
And we decided, okay, let's goto Ghana, let's hope that there
are more opportunities there forus compared to what we have in
a small village.
It was a bit of a jump in thedark can I call it like that,
(04:39):
because I've never gone outsideEurope.
It was my first time, you know,in Africa, and with two little
ones, eduardo was three andElisa was six months.
So it was really a bit of anadventure.
And when I came to Ghana, theidea was to stay for four years.
(05:00):
My husband was the projectmanager for the Ridge Tower,
where now Fidelity Bank is, andat that time there was nothing
in Ridge other than the cityhouse and the total house.
The rest was bush on that side.
You know where the Ridgebusiness district is.
(05:20):
And so we came for that projectthinking that we'll stay four
years.
But then Jimmy was asked to doanother project, then go and
work on a crusher for one of themines in Bogoso.
So we, from Accra, we moved toTarqua, and Accra was the
(05:42):
civilized part of the world atthat time, which cannot be
compared to Accra today.
And that was really more of anadventure, because there was
nothing, there was nobody.
It was me and the children andmy husband.
My husband was working 12 to18-hour shifts every day of the
(06:05):
week because the crash had to becompleted within a certain date
, and but we always said thatthe family stays together.
Where one goes, everybody goes,and and that made us stronger
as a family, right, and sothat's what brought us to Ghana,
thinking we'd stay four years.
But then, one contract afterthe other, we stayed and we
(06:30):
started rooting.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
So this is your concept about the family stays
together, right, and one personmoves and the others would have
to follow.
Yes, how did you come up withthat?
It's so beautiful.
Yes, how did you come up withthat?
Speaker 1 (06:46):
It's so beautiful.
Well, first of all, I stronglybelieve in the family and I
think that when a couple issuccessful, as a couple, you can
achieve so much together, right, but a couple to be successful
(07:06):
is not just the love that youhave.
In the beginning, everything is, you know, a lot of passion and
a lot of emotion.
But then, as you go throughlife, challenges come in and
difficulties, other peopleinterfere, and so on.
We always say this is ourfamily, this is what we have to
build, to grow together, to makesure that our children are the
(07:31):
best extension of ourselves.
And so that's one of thereasons why and at that time we
were not very popular we didn'twant to send our children to
boarding school.
We kept the children here afteruniversity, all right, because
we believe.
So the university they went tothe Us, right, but they studied
in ghana.
So um, when eduardo finishes alevels, he went to um.
(07:55):
He was admitted in severaluniversities, but he chose the
us.
So we went to study inprovidence at brown university
andisa same story, but she wasadmitted at the Savannah School
of Art and Design in Georgia.
And that's when we said thechildren now are ready to go.
The education is not.
(08:15):
In our opinion, education isnot just what you get from the
school that's very important butwhat you as a parent can give
your children in terms of value,in terms of understanding what
life is and how you see things,is very important.
And if you let the childrenleave too early, you'll not be
able to give.
This is our opinion and I'm notsaying ours is right, but
(08:38):
that's how we believed.
So we always wanted to betogether and for us, the father
comes home in the evening,spends time with the children.
Saturdays and Sundays arefamily time.
Yes, there can be a birthdayparty, no problem, but for
children to go with theirfriends, but always come back
(08:58):
home.
The family does somethingtogether during the weekend.
So our spirit has always beento make sure that we as a family
are very strong together.
Right, and now that you make mego through this.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Maybe that's the reason why both my children came
back from the us so they wentback, they went to school, they
went to school, and now they'vecome back.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Eduardo worked for four years in the us.
He had a very nice job, butthen they came back to ghana
both of them.
So eduardo works with us in theUS.
He had a very nice job and thenthey came back To Ghana Both of
them.
So Eduardo works with us in thecompany and Elisa has a family
and she has her own business.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
So that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
I'm blessed.
Maybe you don't believe, but Ihave children here and
grandchildren, so thegrandchildren are also in Accra,
so I'm blessed.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
You are certainly blessed If I take you back to
when you first came in.
The kids were going to schoolin Accra.
Yeah.
Then you had to move to Tarqua.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Right, not quite.
So we went to Tarqua whenEduardo was five, turning five,
so that year he couldn't go tokindergarten.
They were still in thekindergarten.
He was still in kindergarten inAccra when we moved to Tarco
(10:14):
and Elisa was still not goingbecause she was too little, and
so in that period I was teachingthe children Italian and then I
had so much time there wasnobody to meet, nobody to play
with, so I was the teacher, theone who was playing with them,
and so on.
In Tarqua we were living in theManganese Mine guest house.
(10:39):
It's a huge, I would say callit estate, scattered houses here
and there, but most of thepeople living there were either
bachelors or, you know, husbandand wife, but of a different
generation.
So there was no way really toconnect for the children.
So I was everything for them.
(11:00):
So that's when I spent my timeto start teaching them Italian,
them.
So that's when I spent my timeto start teaching them Italian
and I actually teach themItalian through.
They did the exam in Italy forclass 5, which is, you know,
like from here, is from 6 in GIS, class 5 in in Italy.
So they, with that one, if wehad to go back to Italy and they
(11:20):
had to resume and to startschooling in Italy.
They could resume from Form 7,for instance.
Imagine which for us is primamedia.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
You learned that the standard of living.
What was the impression whenyou first came in?
Speaker 1 (11:39):
I always have a funny story about that, because when
we landed in Accra, the airportwas not what we have now the
airport.
You could be standing here andsee the people arriving there,
collecting the suitcases and getout.
So it was a very small airportand the belt where your
suitcases were coming was justby the entrance.
(12:01):
And then you walk out, and sothe first impression that I had
was how there were so manypeople sitting on the ground
outside the airport, all thesealaji, probably changing, but at
that time I didn't know wherethey were, the alajis and so on.
(12:22):
So that was my first impression,something that you wouldn't see
in Europe or another part ofthe world.
And then, when I was taken tothe house, I remember the
compound was dark and there wasthis very strong noise and I
asked my husband what is thisgoing on here?
I was, you know, around thehouse there was a gutter and a
(12:46):
drain and the frogs there wereso many frogs.
I arrived, I believe it wasraining season because it was
the 30th of april in 1995 and Iremember these frogs don't worry
, they are just frogs anyway,these the whole night.
I still remember them.
So the standard of life wasdifferent, right, in the sense
that at that time Ghana wasAccra, accra, not Ghana.
(13:10):
Why.
It was way simpler than it isnow, in the sense that you know
it was a simple life.
You didn't have so manyexpectations Now.
You have so much forentertainment, restaurants, all
what you want in Accra you canget.
At that time there was nothing.
Supermarkets were not wellfurnished, Restaurants were very
(13:31):
limited in number.
There was no recreationalactivities at all.
Nothing, there was nothing.
So our recreation was TizanoSport Club.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Wow, you know, at that time, if you were telling
somebody about what he had justseen in Africa, that statement
you would have made, and whatyou will today, to tell that
person that there areopportunities in.
Africa.
What would it have been at thattime and now?
Speaker 1 (13:59):
So well now, the opportunities were also at that
time, for sure, but probably itwould have taken a longer time
to succeed, maybe because still,you know, 30 years ago the
economic situation maybe itwasn't so promising.
It's not promising here as well.
(14:20):
We are not in the best of times.
But on the other side, when youlook around, you see people are
spending, see people are,things are happening.
So what would have been my?
Speaker 3 (14:33):
um, I don't know how to answer to this, so pick up
the phone and talk to me right.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
The first month of moving to Ghana right, so right,
maybe maybe at that time I was,I was young, number one and no,
no, no, no.
Can I start again?
Yeah, of course, at that time Iwas younger and less wise and I
(15:02):
was a mother, so I didn't seethings from a business
perspective right.
But maybe because of my familysituation when I was young, when
I was living with my parents, Iadapt very easily to things.
I don't see the challengeitself, I see the solution to
(15:24):
the challenge, and when I wassaying that life in Ghana at the
time was much simpler, I reallymean it.
You know, very basic.
For instance, I came in myhouse, we were brought by the
company and nothing was missing,but it was very basic.
Now, when an expat comes toGhana, the expectations are way
higher.
The quality of life has changedand the expectations have
(15:49):
changed.
So, to answer to you, I wouldhave not been able to give to
someone the feedback of if youcome to Ghana, there are these
opportunities, but I'm in Ghana,I'm happy here, the weather is
always nice, the people are sofriendly and everything is so
simple, and you clink withpeople with no problems, while
(16:12):
in Europe or in Italy it takesmore time before you make
friends before somebody trustsyou and so on, and I think one
of the biggest positives aboutGhana are the Ghanian people.
That's what stays with you, allright.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
Talk to me about that .
Speaker 1 (16:32):
So Ghanians are very friendly.
From the start.
You don't feel they are.
You know you have to be tryingto make friends.
They are open, like you.
Here we have been able toimmediately establish a
connection.
It's not to the same level witheverybody, but it is common.
(16:53):
The second thing I saygenerously despite hardship,
ghanaians are happy people and Iwant to give you an example.
If you go to Europe I use Italyas an example because I'm
Italian and we are known to bevery open, very passionate, very
(17:16):
friendly things have changedanyway.
People have changed in the past30 years, in my opinion, but
you don't have that level ofconfidence, that level of
friendship that you can feel.
Not friendship.
I was going to say easy toconnect.
It's not easy to connect andpeople tend to be mostly grumpy.
(17:37):
Okay, and I always use thisexample when I see a grumpy face
and say what are youcomplaining about?
If you are in Ghana, what agood number of Ghanaians go
through you can't imagine, andthat's why they are looking at
other opportunities.
You know, in other countriesand I use the example of those
(17:59):
are the traffic lights, maybe onthe skateboards or on the
wheelchair, that they come up toyou and they still smile at you
.
Yes, right and they always tryto have a word with you.
So, madam, how are you today?
And how are the children alwaysforget about that.
You will not get this somewhereelse, so it's, it's within the
(18:21):
guinean you know to be, be towelcome you, to establish a
connection with you, to make youfeel good.
Maybe not everybody, but that'show I see the Ghanaian and I
think in general, it's a commonspread feeling that that's how
Ghanaians are.
So I think that's what thefirst impression I would say to
(18:43):
someone about Ghana.
And then the second thing theweather.
The first impression I wouldsay to someone about Ghana.
And then the second thing theweather.
The third thing I would say themango.
They are so sweet.
So, yeah, but now it's about andI always say it If you look at
Ghana in 1995, when I came, andwhere we are today and that's
how we started the conversationearlier there are so many
(19:05):
opportunities in this country.
Okay, look at how of the growthin the past 10 years, how many
things have happened.
How many?
I'm not saying the economy isis fantastic.
Yes, it's difficult, there area lot of issues, but people are
trying to make things happenhere, and so much.
You are an example, right.
(19:28):
So many things that peopledon't even know are available in
Ghana, right, and the healthsystem has improved.
Okay, let's also put it thisway Not for everyone.
Not everything is accessible toeveryone, but I think at all
levels things have improved atall levels at all levels.
(19:49):
So let's use another example.
I don't know if it's yes, Iwant to use this example.
When I came to ghana, publictransport was the majority on
the car, on the on the roadsokay, right, the famous trot
draw with the wooden writing thewriting on the roads.
Okay, right, the famoustrot-troll with the wooden
writing the writing on thewooden.
How do you say back?
(20:14):
Or the small vans?
That was the majority.
And taxi the yellow.
Remember the yellow and browntaxis?
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Yellow and brown.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
I've seen pictures of those.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
That was the majority .
Then start about 20 years ago.
You start seeing more privatecars, More and more and more.
Now what's the majority on theroads?
Private, cars.
So first we get a car, then getsa house, and that's what's
(20:44):
happening, because everybody hasa car and everybody's trying to
build something to have theirown place.
So that's a sign of growth, soat all levels.
So those, let's say that wehave a huge young population
right in Ghana and that's thereis a lot of unemployment.
(21:07):
But you have no idea thepotential of that, because
outside in the Western world wehave a huge old population.
We need the young population.
So now how to combine that, howto get the young population to
be able to get opportunities andopportunities for those people,
(21:29):
also from Ghana, because nowthere is more interest in tech
savvy youngsters that canprovide a service from here for
companies that are outside.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
You know you speak very well about us Ghanians.
This question is do you thinkyou are treated slightly
different because you're Oberoni, compared to maybe the regular
Ghanaian, the native Ghanaian orthe Ghanaian Boga?
(22:08):
You see what I'm trying to say.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Yes, I see what you're trying to say.
Well, it is possible.
But I want to say also that alot of Obruni, they feel the
same and that's why either theystay or they ask to be sent back
at the end of the post.
I know a lot of them.
So it is possible.
It is possible that amongyourselves, ghanaians among
(22:35):
themselves are not.
Maybe, but I don't believe so.
I see in the office among thestaff, even when I'm not part of
conversations, how things work.
There is always somebody with adifferent personality.
That's normal, but in generalthat's the nature, yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
Let me stop you here for a minute.
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(23:16):
There must have been a momentin your time here being a parent
as well, with your own kidswhere you were thinking ah maybe
I want to go back.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Well, it's true there have been times where I thought
I was going to go back becauseat certain times maybe the
children need a better education, or maybe when they go to
university.
But life made it in a differentway, because when children were
in school I was working at theBritish Air Commission and at
(23:53):
that time I was locally engagedbecause, of course, I'm Italian,
so they wouldn't like me fromthe foreign office, right.
So I was locally engaged and itwas a perfect job because I
would start at 8 o'clock, I'vealready dropped the children, I
finish at 2 o'clock, I pick themup, we go home, and they were
(24:14):
in good schools in Ghana,Because, of course, as an expat,
you have certain benefits thatthe company helps you with
certain things, like the school,the rent or the medicals, for
instance.
I would say that, more than thechildren, what sometimes I
(24:35):
thought I would have to go backis for health reasons, Because
if you have a serious illnessand I did, my husband also had
Ghana, especially 10 years ago,was still not prepared.
Now things are improving.
So in that situation, in thatcircumstances, I said, okay,
(24:56):
we'll have to go back.
Luckily, we were able toresolve things, get better and
come back and now when I look atit, I say you know what Italy
has to offer to me for a general, let's say generic, health
issue?
Ghana can offer me the same, sothere is no need to travel back
(25:18):
.
And other things happen, we'llsee.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Thank God.
Thank God, yes, we're in EastLigon right now.
Yeah.
A few minutes away from Trazaco.
I want you to take your mindback 25, 30 years ago.
How?
Was the situation around here,just give me a vivid imagination
(25:43):
of how these areas were.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
So I actually lived in.
Trazaco yeah, from 2004 to 2008,if I'm not wrong, and I was
moving from Tesano in a verysimple house, not nice but not
anything special, to a Trazacohouse, and we all know what
Trazaco is like.
(26:06):
I never felt home.
The house was beautiful, thegarden was very, very large.
Felt home.
The house was beautiful, thegarden was very, very large.
I never felt home because thehouses are so big and I didn't
have that sense of coziness I'mused to because I'm Italian and
because I'm half Dutch.
So you know, in Hollandeverything is, every corner in
the houses is taken, so I neverfelt that sense of warmth and
(26:30):
coziness that that I like inhouse.
But that said, trazaco isbeautiful and it's really, um,
it was really nice place to, to,to living, especially with the
children.
They could go out and, you know, around with the bicycle or go
for a walk or walk the dogs.
But from Trazaco coming to Accra, there there was nothing.
(26:51):
The road was bad and I rememberwhen we started hearing that
the Accra mall, the ANC mall,would open Wow, we will have a
supermarket closed by.
Only then.
Then you realize that thesupermarket is not a walking
distance.
There was nothing If I hadforgotten to buy breads or sugar
(27:13):
.
I had to drive all the way atthat time to Max Mart at 37, or
Koala in Osu.
Imagine Also supermarket.
There weren't so many as thereare now.
If you needed anything urgentin a pharmacy, the closest
pharmacy was inside East Legonand there were just a few, so
otherwise you have to go toairport Clinic.
(27:34):
There was nothing here, therewas really nothing, so it was it
was Tesano in the end wasbetter served.
Okay.
Right, yes.
Or let's say, closer in a sense, to the main amenities of the
city.
So there was nothing.
And now, when you come hereevery week, you see a change in
(27:57):
this Lagon.
You see new shops, newsupermarket.
Oh, they are tearing that road.
It wasn't tired and you know,it's incredible how it is
developing.
In my opinion, I don't thinkI've seen anything of this in
any travels outside Ghana that Idid Go to the US, go to Italy,
go to Europe Everything isalready developed.
(28:19):
So there is a hugegentrification happening in
cantonment, in airport, and newdevelopments here in Estragon
Development, commercial,residential, so a lot going on.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
And then the time came where you said you wanted
to start your own business.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Right, let me explain what happened, because I think
I need to go back a little bit.
So when I was at the BritishHigh Commission, I thought that
was my comfort zone.
It was a comfort zone.
I thought that was my, you know, comfort zone, it was a comfort
zone.
But then I realized that therewas no room for to advance in
career, right.
So first I was data entry.
(29:00):
From data entry you pass to thenext level.
So I was in charge of thegeneral office, so overseeing
data entries from other staff.
Then I was moved to registry andappeals and I finally landed to
visa writing office, which isthe top.
(29:20):
But then, after I think it wasabout two years in visa writing,
you can't see passport andvisas anymore.
I said I need something else.
So I resigned and I said, okay,I want to start studying french
and see if other opportunitiescome my way.
But after two months I got anopportunity to work at Villaggio
(29:41):
as head of sales and marketingfor Villaggio Primavera, which
was the first project.
And at the beginning I wasalone, I didn't have a team and
I was just doing the sales.
Then, as we started sellingwell and so on, the team grew, I
had new staff joining and thenI thought that was my perfect
(30:05):
job and I loved it.
I really did it as if it was myown business because I put
passion in what I do and Iworked there for eight years.
I really did it as if it was myown business because I put
passion in what I do right, andI worked there for eight years.
And never in my life I wouldhave thought that I would have
resigned.
But July 2014 comes and I wasalready suspecting something.
(30:26):
But I found out that I hadbreast cancer.
So when that happened, I had totake a bold decision to resign
and look after myself, becausethe way I was running the
business not running thebusiness, but the way I was
involved in the sales departmentwas so deep that I couldn't say
(30:49):
, oh, it doesn't matter, I cantake one year off, and they can.
You know, everything stays inmy mind and I would always be
concerned that that guy hasn'tsigned the contract, the other
one hasn't paid, I have to call.
I needed to just cut completelyand focus on myself, because
having a cancer affects you alsomentally not only physically,
(31:12):
but mentally and so I resignedand, despite the very
challenging situation I was in,that started growing in me the
need to have something to lookout for in the future for myself
(31:33):
.
And and so probably even beforenot not probably before coming
to Ghana, I was thinking whatcan I do when I go back?
I don't want to be a housewife,because when you are home you
have time to think, and when yougo through some difficult
situations like a cancer,thinking is not good, thinking
about it is not good.
(31:54):
So I needed something that gaveme, you know, a reason every
morning to wake up and be busy.
And, and life brought two thingsto my way.
One was, um, looking for, youknow, setting up a small
business, a part-time job, so Ihave time, time for myself, time
for the family, but I can stillbe busy.
So I was thinking about, youknow, what do I do?
(32:17):
I didn't know yet until I camehere.
And the other thing is a bitmore shocking at that time, but
it was the biggest blessing mydaughters came to me and said I
was just home from the hospitaland says I think I'm pregnant
(32:38):
Ayuto.
That was a shock.
So initially it was not easy todigest, but then I realized
that I realized because somebodyhelped me realize and that that
was a blessing.
So I had two things to look outfor Eliza, and that that was a
blessing.
So I had two things to look outfor Karim, who was going to,
(32:59):
was due to arrive to be born inin March, and and then this idea
of having my business.
And so I started being busypreparing for this little one,
coming and helping my daughterand so on, and I came back to
Ghana in November, then I wentback and then I was back in
Italy and then I came back withmy daughter when the baby was
(33:20):
born, and permanently, andthat's already.
I was preparing, I want to dosomething of my own and I
started meeting with some of mydear clients that I had at
Villaggio and Trasaco and I said, in your opinion, what can I do
?
Because of course I consultedmy husband and we already had a
(33:40):
plan, but I wanted somebody toconfirm that I was going the
right direction and they wouldsay no, no, no, do that, because
that's what you're good at andI'm sure you will succeed.
So I started akakapa as a smallletting agency just helping
expats find a home in ghana andsettle right, and I had already
(34:03):
a few properties through tothese landlords and clients that
I had initially, and othersthen joined, and so the passion
was to help these people makeGhana feel like home, and
probably I managed to do thatbecause I always have this, you
know, enthusiasm about Ghana,about how things are here.
(34:26):
There are a lot of challenges.
I'm not saying that everythingis easy.
Challenges across across, youknow.
Staff adapting to the weathercan be a challenge for people,
and so on, but in general, I seethe positive side and that's
what I bring to the table andand and.
So now I I spoke very long andI don't remember where the
(34:49):
question was, but I told you thestory of how I started at
CACAPA and how it's just bycoincidence, I would have not
resigned if I didn't get thecancer.
So you know.
And then that's where my howcan I say?
I have this motto that whensomething happens, even the
worst thing is because somethinggood will happen after.
(35:11):
So yeah, it was.
I must admit it was intense andit was a year, and that was
when I turned 50.
So it was my 50th birthday, itwas my 25th wedding anniversary
and it was also the worst yearof my life because I discovered
that.
But again, you know, I amblessed that I'm here to tell
(35:35):
this story and I advocate and Ialways make sure that I spread
the voice about cancer and howwomen and men as well, should
always do the checkups oftenenough, yearly at least, because
early detection is key.
(35:57):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
Then your company Akakapa.
How did you discover moreopportunities?
Outside of what?
You already knew through yournetwork.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
Well, when you are in business or at least for me my
mind is always looking forsomething right.
I'm always looking first of all, I'm always looking how can I
do best what I do?
I can do better what I'm doing,and that's a positive.
It's also a negative, right,because in a way, it bogs me
(36:35):
down, because if I see, likebefore coming here there was a
problem with something, I callall the team and I said this was
wrong, we should have done itthis way.
Can we, from now on, use thisnew system in doing the same
thing right?
And I expect it in a way thatrelates to Aka Kappa?
(36:55):
So, even when you write aletter, it has to be in a format
and in a way that speaks forexactly represent the company,
and this is not something thatyou can expect your team to know
.
You have to keep talking about,you have to keep building in
them how a kakapa is and how youexpect them to be able to
(37:25):
deliver to that standard.
Whether it is a letter, or howyou take a call or how you deal
with a client.
There is a level of expectationour clients have and there's a
level of expectation that Ibuilt, so in the end it's my
fault, because when I deal withyou as a client, I put all my
(37:48):
best in right and because it'smy business, and I think it has
also to do because of the way Iam.
So I try to be.
Speaker 3 (37:56):
But you also find that that becomes an edge on its
own.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
Oh yes.
Speaker 3 (38:02):
And because sometimes what we see here in many you
know Ghanaian companies is thatthey don't go that extra mile to
take care of their customers.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (38:14):
So if one person decides to put their all in that
business, they get a lot ofclients, because that's what
people want, the expectation andexperience that people.
It's the experience.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
There you go, it's the experience and this is
something that I frequently usewith staff when I'm talking
about customer experience,something that I frequently use
with staff.
When I'm talking about customerexperience, you know, when you
go in and I use the shop or in arestaurant and the shop
attendant or the waiter goes theextra mile and make sure that
(38:44):
you have a good experience, thatyou're happy.
There is not it's nothingspecial, but it's just to show
that you're doing your best forthat person.
I will go back to thatrestaurant or to that shop just
because of that.
Sometimes it's more theexperience than how nice the
restaurant is or how good thefood is, and the same in the
(39:06):
shop.
So when I go to a supermarketand I go to the counter, I
always go to the counter wherethe lady is friendly and she
talks to me in a better way orshe's more helpful.
You know, it's natural you aredrawn by that because you make a
better connection In customerservice, in customer experience.
There is so much to do, so manyopportunities in Ghana, because
(39:33):
I think the people are ready tolearn to do so many
opportunities in Ghana, becauseI think the people are ready to
learn.
Only that there isn't enoughtraining in that.
Speaker 3 (39:40):
Let me stop you here for a minute.
If you've been watching thisshow, I want you to subscribe
and become part of the family.
We are on a journey of changingthe lives of people on this
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Let's carry on the conversation.
(40:00):
What are you doing differently?
Speaker 1 (40:09):
from what I'm supposed to do for my company,
so I can learn Right.
So, first of all, are youreferring to customer care or in
general, yes customer care.
You don't, though we would wantto say I trained you to do this
and now you know how to do it.
You have to handle it yourself,you have to keep training, you
have to keep monitoring, youhave to keep insisting, and the
(40:33):
reason is so.
If you work at a kakapa, youwork in a nice environment,
air-conditioned, people aroundyou are friendly and so on, and
you are expected at a certainlevel.
The moment you get out, you aremaybe going into public
(40:55):
transport, you are going to themarket, so your standard of
expectation drops, isn't it?
If you are in a publictransport, you don't expect
their condition, you don'texpect the mate to be polite, or
when you go to the market, youknow that it comes with some
(41:20):
challenges.
So you, as the user, drop yourlevel of expectation.
And it's not right for me toexpect all the times that, when
you come back into the Aka Kappaenvironment, where everything
is neat, the condition is on,everything is in place and so on
, you bring up your level again.
(41:42):
So it's a continuous.
You know making sure that theyare clear with the standard.
That's number one.
When there are challenges withclients stepping and help, don't
expect that your employee canhandle all the challenges you
and and that sometimes is verytime consuming, but it is
(42:05):
necessary you have to be able tostep in and assist that member
of staff in resolving theproblem.
So the next time somethingsimilar happens because there is
no procedure or training thatyou can give, that has
everything already in it Humansituations where a client gets
(42:27):
upset or you haven't said theright thing happen despite any
training right.
So you have to constantly bringin training and I think one.
One other thing I do differentis I bring the passion and I try
so much to pass on my passionto my staff.
It's not easy.
(42:47):
It's the level of and I willsay, is the level of energy that
you give out that will give yousomething in return.
So even when you are dealingwith a client, if your level of
energy is good, is positive, youpositively charge the other
person.
The other person connects withyou and then you go.
But if he's dull, you areaverage, they will go with
(43:08):
somebody who has better energy.
Speaker 3 (43:12):
I've learned so much.
Okay.
You know all those things youjust said, I've just learned.
I've learned so much, I mean.
I think that's why usually forme, when I'm employing- I love
people who are proactive.
I just that's like my numberone.
You know, don't wait for thingsto all go bad before you start
(43:36):
thinking.
Somebody who?
Can think on their feet.
Think very quickly, act veryquickly before problems start
happening.
You know, but you find that thatlevel of quality is very low
here and you have to keep goingthrough CVs upon CVs and
interviews upon interviews toget that quality.
And even when you've gotten aCPDs KPIs, you just have to keep
(44:00):
going.
Speaker 1 (44:01):
And this is a challenge that all employers
have, and it's sad, it's reallysad.
Yesterday I was at the CEOsummit at the Kempinski right,
and so then you are there withother CEOs, other managing
directors.
They all share the samefrustration, they all share the
same frustration and you see, Ithink there are a lot of reasons
(44:26):
why, and it's not only in Ghana, in my opinion Maybe it can be
a bit more complicated here butit's also a generational problem
, okay, okay.
So yesterday one of my stafftold me oh, I always listen to
that podcast and that made methink.
Podcast For this generation,podcast is like reading a book
(44:50):
right, it's the way you learn,and for me it's still the book.
Right, I still need to have thebook in my hands to learn.
For the new generations, thepodcast is a different way of
learning and I said, okay, sothis maybe is one of those
(45:10):
people that are maybe more intopodcasts than on social media.
The reason that I'm bringingthis in is that I feel that the
more we are on social media andthe more shallow we are, because
we keep scrolling, jumping fromone thing to the other without
(45:31):
going in depth.
We love the news to be justheadlines we don't go and read.
So the headlines can be sodeceiving because the way you
put the words, but if you go indepth in reading an article, you
know more, you understandbetter.
So I think it's generationalbecause of that, because social
media doesn't help, and forGhana, youth and I keep saying
(45:55):
that when I employ people, so Iemploy for attitudes.
Okay, right, Are you proactive?
What is your energy?
Are you?
And they come very wellprepared to the interviews and
I'm sure it happened to you andto other employers.
God, is it the same person thatI interviewed?
How come the output is sodifferent?
(46:15):
Sometimes I say it's theinterview system.
So we craft new questions andwe make you do a test there and
then we come up with some thinkon the spot, difficult questions
and we still make the mistake.
And it's sad because there is a, as I said, a high number of
(46:40):
unemployed young people and theyall deserve an opportunity.
Right, you wish you could giveeveryone an opportunity.
That's not possible.
And then, when you realize thatyou made a mistake or that the
person is not what you hadexpected, you have invested in
that person because you have togive three months training
before you are able to establishoh, it's not working right.
(47:04):
So we introduced, for instance,last year apart from an hr.
We are not a big company.
But we said I can't handle allthese children that I have here
by myself and my husband andEduardo.
So we employed an HR and I mustsay it was a very good decision
.
But then we said, okay, we needto improve our training.
(47:25):
So we have a person dedicatedto training, only Specialized
training throughout ourprocesses.
Three months of training, testtraining, test practice, this
and that and that, and still.
So I have a word for the youngpeople listening to this it's on
you to succeed.
It's on you to be eager tolearn.
(47:47):
Come to a company.
Say me Excel, I know it.
Upside down.
Every industry in any business.
You need Excel.
Say me excel, I know it.
Upside down every industry inany business you need excel.
You need to really know it.
Don't say I know 60.
When I look at it it's like god.
Not even at the start youshould be that low.
You need to know how to usemicrosoft, all the microsoft
(48:08):
applications.
You need to be very conversantwith ai.
Now Come and show how good youare, and then you have an edge,
because then you say, okay, thisperson has all what it takes to
start.
Well, but if I have to employsomebody that doesn't know how
to use Excel, well, I have tostart from the training, from
very low, and so it takes longerfor that person to be able to
(48:32):
really be productive.
That's the reason why I employsomebody to have something in
return.
Right, and that is what I see.
There is no.
Very, very few have thateagerness to learn.
They can't prepare it, even ifsometimes knowing how to use
this application is moreimportant than certain degrees,
(48:56):
university degrees.
And again, school is notpreparing this generation to
come to work.
The national service is notpreparing them.
So we have national servicethat go out of here, from Aka
Kappa, and they find a job rightaway, or they stay because they
are good and we say please, nowthat you've learned, stay.
We don't treat them as nationalservice.
(49:19):
Actually, by the way, I treatthem much better.
Yes, I make sure that.
Speaker 3 (49:26):
Some of the things you've mentioned here.
If there's anyone that haswatched this episode or listened
to this episode up until thispoint, I think you need to
rewind.
You need to rewind it, maybeabout 10 minutes.
Right and then listen to itagain, because I think this is
(49:48):
the key.
I have seen students who arelearning how to use a computer
simply by the teacher drawing iton the board.
There's no practice, right?
I remember sodium chlorideexperiment.
(50:10):
I had to remember the formula.
Yeah.
There's no actual doing.
That is happening Today, withthe age of the internet.
You can go on the internet withyour phone and learn everything
you need to know.
Yeah, my son, six-year-old,knows how to use Excel.
(50:32):
He can generate a bar chart,but then you have somebody that
comes out of university and theystruggle.
Six-year-old knows how to useExcel.
He can generate a bar chart,but then you have somebody that
comes out of university and theystruggle.
Speaker 1 (50:41):
So I need to take you back a little bit more.
It comes from the family.
If, in the family, from day oneand I really mean day one you
stimulate your children inlearning and you talk to them as
adults.
I am doing this because, evenlike, let's switch the light on
(51:02):
and you show them how to switchit on, how to switch it off from
the very early stage, somethingthat or you go up the stairs
and you count with them, or youdo things and you involve them
in doing that.
They are eager to learn, but ifyou keep telling your children,
go in the other room, this isthe room for the adults.
What are they learning?
(51:25):
So it is also the education, andI think the generation who
raised these youngsters is theone that has been busy with work
, trying to make a living and soon.
They didn't have, they didn'tunderstand, or they no, they
didn't understand.
I think the right word is theymissed the importance of
(51:50):
bringing up their children withyou know the practical aspect of
life, the learning, becauseeverything that you learn is
gold for you, because you're notleaving it to somebody else.
It stays with you and you.
The more you learn, the moreyou grow, the more you can do so
(52:10):
many things.
I I always say what you learn inTanka Kappa, you've learned it
here.
You can take it everywhere.
It's to high standard, but youhave to learn it.
You have to learn it and youwill be richer and have more
opportunities.
So I think for me with littlechildren, it's there that you
(52:32):
start to grow their minds.
You can start growing a mindwhen you're in university.
That's to start from whenyou're little.
So if your child wants to usethe iPad or the computer to
learn how to use applications,let him be.
If it's too long on iPad ongames, take it, throw it and let
(52:53):
the person play.
The little child play with Legoor do other things that are
creative.
Make them think how do I, Iwant to do that, how do I do it?
And you have to think andthat's how.
Speaker 3 (53:07):
And come up with ideas.
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (53:10):
So I feel that that's one of the problems that we
have.
That's why.
Speaker 3 (53:14):
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger
self what would it?
Speaker 1 (53:18):
be, Well, so again we go back to our parents, right?
If I could give a piece ofadvice, I would say I should
have left home earlier.
I left home quite early, butnot early enough, and I should
(53:40):
have imposed myself to my father.
My father was an Italian,old-fashioned Italian macho, so
he is the boss in the family.
He knows what is right for you.
My passion was to study medicine, become a pediatrician.
I always loved children and Ithought that's what I want to do
, and if I had done that, maybeI would have not come to Ghana
(54:04):
and things would have beendifferent.
But in Ghana I would have madea good living because it's a
profession, but not only inGhana anywhere.
And so my father would notallow my mom to speak Dutch in
the family, so I didn't speak asecond language at home, while
my children speak.
Eduardo speaks four languagesand Elisa speaks three,
(54:27):
including three, so, which Isorry, I have to admit I don't
speak very bad, but I ended upworking in only English-speaking
environments and it was notAnyway.
So I would say to the youngestmyself impose yourself.
(54:48):
If you know that that's yourpassion, fight Really, fight for
it.
And if I have to give the sameadvice to parents let your
children do what their passionis.
Don't tell them oh, I'm alawyer, you should be a lawyer,
I'm a doctor, you should be adoctor.
Let them follow their passion.
They will do much better inlife.
Speaker 3 (55:10):
I love that statement .
I love it the last one you made, but you know you made a
statement earlier when youmentioned that the parents were
very busy trying to make endsmeet for the family, so those
same parents are now thinking tothemselves if I let this guy
(55:32):
follow his passion he might notbe able to bring in the money to
support the family.
You see the way they'rethinking.
Speaker 1 (55:41):
Oh no, absolutely.
I'm also a parent like that.
Speaker 3 (55:43):
Right.
So sometimes it's like theywant to draw a line very quickly
and say hey, I'm struggling atthe moment to take care of you.
Now I know one of our neighborswhose son is a doctor and he's
making a good living for himselfand taking care of his mom.
(56:04):
So maybe for that reason I'mgoing to push this young boy to
become a doctor by any means.
So then it takes that boy awayfrom what he really wants to do,
and it's a difficult one, isn't?
Speaker 1 (56:17):
it.
It is very much so as a parent.
I always say that being aparent is the most difficult job
yeah, they should have told usyeah no, but the good thing is
that you learn on the job.
That's true, that's true.
So now, what I think is this sopassion is what drives us to be
(56:38):
the best, no matter whichpassion.
If I have a passion for cookingand I love cooking for my
family I will really make a goodmeal right, even if I'm not
good.
But with time I will learn andI will make sure, because it's
in my passion, and I will do itbest.
You said you have a passion forthis and you do it beyond what I
was expecting to find right sothe the parent has to be able to
(57:04):
be so many things but also toread in the personality of the
children and say, okay, thepassion, this person is so good
at that.
If you want your child to be adoctor, and every time he
scratches himself a little bloodhe faints, that person cannot
be a doctor, right.
(57:24):
So, yes, you can push, you canadvise.
I did advise my children, I didadvise, but I advised, I guided
.
I didn't enforce, my fatherenforced.
I didn't do what I liked in life.
I would have never thought Iwould be a soul person.
I would have never thought thatI would end up in real estate.
It was just, life happened andthat's where I am.
(57:46):
But my passion was not thisthen.
That I put passion in what I dois a different thing.
But if I had to do what I liked, it would have been something
else.
So me, to make ends meet, I amdoing, or I started doing,
things that I didn't have apassion for Right.
(58:07):
Then it evolved and real estateis my passion.
But it's a coincidence, I mighthave ended up being a
shopkeeper.
Speaker 3 (58:20):
I get it, it makes sense.
Speaker 1 (58:21):
You see.
So helping children find theirpassion and make sure the
passion is not.
You know there are so, andnowadays there are so many
professions that you can do thatare new.
So technology, for instance, weshould have started 10 years
ago to push everybody into thatRight as we are evolving.
(58:45):
Research technology is stillsomething, but there are so many
professions.
So not because you are a lawyeror your neighbor is a doctor,
be a doctor, because that doctor, if he doesn't like it, will
make so many people not survive.
Speaker 3 (59:04):
Yolanda, is there any question that I could have
asked you today, that I didn't,that we could still talk about?
Speaker 1 (59:13):
Oh, wow, that is.
You know I can talk forever, sothat's me um questions.
Well, maybe what we could touchon is on real estate, because
and even yesterday people come,young people, come up to me in
in real estate or working forand, yolanda, I would want you
(59:36):
to be my mentor and and,honestly speaking, I don't have
the time to be a mentor.
I really don't, because realestate is so, oh, this business
is so demanding.
When you are into services, youare not selling an item to
somebody and that person walksaway with that item.
(59:56):
In services, you have so muchmore work around it the way you
establish the initial contact,the way you build a relationship
, the way in our case then, theway you conduct the viewing, the
way you follow up on thecontract, and you have multiple
parties involved, from a buyerto a seller or a tenant and a
(01:00:19):
landlord, an artisan to do theworks, and your staff to the.
So, really, my day.
I have applied for nine days aweek and 30 hours a day, but God
said I have to do with what hehas given everybody else.
The time is never enough.
But what I want to say to allthose who are out there who ask
(01:00:41):
me you know, how can I make itto succeed?
First of all, passion.
You have to have a passion.
Don't go into real estate justbecause you think it's
money-making.
It's a whole lot of hard work.
You think it's money making,it's a whole lot of hard work.
Second, and I think that worksfor any business, this and this
the passion.
(01:01:02):
And you have to be a workaholic.
You cannot set up a business andnot be, you know, into it all
the times to make sure thatgradually, you grow and you
improve.
You don't grow just by havingmore properties or more items to
sell, right, you grow byimproving the way you give your
(01:01:25):
service.
And to improve, you have tolearn, you have to study, you
have to put in place processesand procedures.
There is so much around thatand I feel that everybody thinks
that real estate is so easy.
It is so complicated and inGhana it's even more complicated
(01:01:45):
because of all.
We know the challenges and youknow, ensuring ownership,
quality of construction, whichis not always guaranteed, though
now we see that.
You know, skyline is changing,there are beautiful buildings
coming up and definitely thestandard is raising, I will say,
(01:02:08):
but there is still a lot of,you know, wrongdoing on the
market.
So that's what I will say.
Those who want to venture inreal estate, they should do it
right.
They should just take the timefirst, learn and do one thing at
a time and do it right withpassion.
I work very many hours so manyhours, so yeah, Amazing.
Speaker 3 (01:02:34):
And now there are three favorite questions that we
ask on this podcast.
Usually in the end, right, butbefore I ask those questions on
the 29th of august at thebritish council, uh, we're doing
our first connected minds liveevent now it's going to be for
only 250 people and all thedetails are going to be in the
(01:02:54):
description.
You can register and then we'llgo through and see which people
we think would benefit from theconversations we're going to
have.
My question to Yolanda ismotivation or discipline.
Speaker 1 (01:03:10):
I know you have to have both.
You definitely have to haveboth the passion and the
motivation.
I will consider the same If youare passionate, you are
automatically motivated.
And the discipline if you arenot disciplined, you cannot put
(01:03:31):
structure to what you do.
So for the person, for theemployer, the same way you have
to motivate your staff, but youalso have to give the discipline
, and by discipline I mean theprocedure, the process, the
roadmap that takes that personto perform the task from here to
there.
But I can give you all thediscipline that I have, but if
(01:03:55):
you're not motivated you willnot do it.
And on the other hand, you canbe so much motivated, but if I
don't help you with thediscipline, with the structure,
you will not achieve.
So the two go together Amazing.
Speaker 3 (01:04:09):
There's always a different perspective when we
ask, and I've asked thisquestion more than 120 times.
I hope I answered the question.
Speaker 1 (01:04:15):
Oh no, you did.
You certainly did.
Speaker 3 (01:04:17):
Now is the best advice you've ever received.
Ha, Uh-huh.
Speaker 1 (01:04:24):
Right Three.
Okay, the first one will be youshouldn't marry that man.
So when I met my husband I wantto be sure, because this is an
answer.
But when I met my husband, Imet him on it was really a
coincidence in Milan.
He was coming from Ghana, I wascoming from the eastern part of
(01:04:47):
Italy at a birthday.
I didn't know anybody there, Ijust knew somebody, only one
person.
He had a few friends there.
So we meet at this birthday andit was the 7th of June.
And then back right.
In that way it was really umchemistry at the first, at the
(01:05:07):
first um encounter, and then fora week I didn't sing, we only
spoke on phone.
My mother-in-law would say thebiggest telephone bill I've ever
seen in my life.
And then when we met the secondtime, we met in his village,
and not really his village.
(01:05:28):
I was in charge of that area,so I went for some sales meeting
and so on, and then he took meto his family and says you know,
we are getting married Likethat, I swear like that, and we
are getting married at the endof the year.
And of course I had agreed andso on.
But then I rewinded a little bitand said maybe I should ask for
(01:05:49):
some advice, and I couldn't.
I was not in good terms, as youcan imagine, with my father.
So I had another person who wasmy mentor.
Unfortunately, he passed awayand I took Jimmy to him.
So before I realized, thismentor took Jimmy on the side
and started talking.
I could see the two of themreally talking deeply.
(01:06:10):
I said, oh God.
And then they come out from theroom and he says you should
really marry that young man.
And I listened, right?
So if I had an hesitation afterthe first, after the first,
let's say decision, and that wasthe best advice in my life,
(01:06:33):
right?
So we are now married 30 yearswith jimmy and, um, yeah, we are
blessed.
No, I'm lying, I've been goneat 30 years, but I'm married 35
years sorry, 36 this year.
And so that was the first, um,best advice.
I will say.
The second best advice was andthis, this comes from Jimmy do
(01:06:56):
something for yourself.
If you want to set up yoursmall company, go for it.
You will do so well and we willgrow the companies and so on.
So these are the best twoadvices.
I would have not done thesecond one without the first one
.
Speaker 3 (01:07:11):
I love it.
You know, whenever the adviceis about marriage, I love it and
I usually feel like let me turnoff the cameras and turn off
the audios and then so that Ican carry on listening to the
advice.
Right, because 35 years ofmarriage, that's a lot of
experience a lot we can learnfrom.
Speaker 1 (01:07:27):
Go back to passion, motivation and discipline.
It also also works in inmarriage and teamwork works in
the marriage and teamwork,teamwork.
And it's never always perfect,perfect, but if you teamwork, if
you team together, you willresolve the problems.
Speaker 3 (01:07:42):
Love it, love it.
The last question we have isrecommend a book that our
viewers listeners can also readcan you pause and let me check?
Speaker 1 (01:07:54):
Well, first of all, I read in Italian, so, and I
don't read in English.
I read in Italian, okay, and Iread so many books that I
wouldn't be able to A book aboutwhat?
The question?
Speaker 3 (01:08:14):
About improvement self-improvement business a book
about about what the questionabout improvement,
self-improvement business,mindset, success and also
because the titles are inItalian, so I will give you
right, but I wouldn't.
Speaker 1 (01:08:27):
I wouldn't use one book alone for me, and and I'm
I'm so hungry to always when Ihave a question.
Now, char Gpt is my best.
Speaker 3 (01:08:38):
So, while Yolanda is getting as a book, have a look
at this image.
Those of you that did not seethis image on LinkedIn, this is
an image of her and the kids,right.
Speaker 1 (01:08:49):
Eduardo, yeah, and Elisa.
Speaker 3 (01:08:52):
Yeah, beautiful.
We're going to try and put thison the introduction as well.
It's just beautiful, thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:08:59):
Yeah, my husband took that picture.
And that's where we were simple, right, yes, yeah, yeah, I
wouldn't be able to give you onebook in particular.
Okay, no, I wouldn't be able togive a book in particular.
Um, no, I wouldn't be able togive a book in particular, but I
think, um, if I have to sayself-improvement now, there is
(01:09:22):
so much about self-improvementduring covid, for instance is
when I discovered um youtube forself-development.
yeah, I mean it's like a neverending resource.
But you need to also find whatworks for you, because there are
certain books you start and yousay this is not what works for
(01:09:44):
me, and it's like sports.
You may like golf, and if Iplay golf I'll beat you because
I don't have the patience forthis ball to go into the hole.
My son plays golf.
He's been playing golf sincethe age of nine.
He's always had a chimota andthat's his passion.
For me, it's tennis, and Idon't play anymore.
(01:10:04):
So you know, it's not one bookin particular that you can
recommend, but reading.
Reading, not scrolling is whatI recommend.
Speaker 3 (01:10:15):
It's important, yeah, recommend, yeah, right.
I'd like to say thank you somuch once again for your time.
You've shared so much.
I've learned so much.
I know these awesome people aregonna learn too.
Speaker 1 (01:10:29):
I really appreciate and okay it was.
It was not something that youprepare for, right.
It's something.
Yes, you know, maybe you havean idea of which questions are
coming your way, but I like thefact that it's a natural thing
that you don't have to rehearseand come here with prepared
questions, like when you arehaving a video, one of these
(01:10:49):
real estate videos that I hate.
So thank you very much.
I am honored that I've beeninvited to this and I hope I've
been helpful to somebody.
Speaker 3 (01:10:59):
You certainly have, thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:11:00):
Thank you so much Thank you Now.
Speaker 3 (01:11:02):
My name is Derek Abaiti and, like I always say,
if you made it to the end, Iwant you to leave a comment
below and let me know thatyou're one of those people.
Stay connected, I'm out.
I've never gone outside Europe.
It was my first time in Africa.
It was really a bit of anadventure.
The first impression that I hadwas how there were so many
people sitting on the groundoutside the airport.
You could be standing here andsee the people arriving there,
collecting the suitcases and getout Something that you wouldn't
(00:22):
see in Europe or another partof the world.
When I came to Ghana, the ideawas to stay for four years.
My husband was the projectmanager for the Ridge Tower and
at that time there was nothingin Ridge other than the city
house and the total house.
The rest was bush.
Speaker 3 (00:40):
There must have been a moment in your time here where
you were thinking ah, maybe Iwant to go.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Well, if you look at Ghana in 1995, when I came, and
where we are today, there are somany opportunities, everything
is so simple and you clink withpeople with no problems, while
in Europe or in Italy it takesmore time before you make
friends, before somebody trustsyou, and so on.
One of the biggest positivesabout Ghana are the Ghanaian
(01:12):
people.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Hello, and welcome to another episode of Connected
Minds Podcast, where we delveinto the stories of visionaries
shaping the business landscape.
Today, we have the privilege ofspeaking with Jolanda, a
trailblazer who transformed herjourney from a foreigner in
Ghana to a leading figure in thecountry's real estate sector.
(01:41):
In 1995, jolanda relocated toGhana with her family, embracing
a new culture and environment.
Starting her career in realestate as a novice, she gained
invaluable experience workingwith a prominent firm.
By 2015, her entrepreneurialspirit led her to establish
(02:02):
Akakapa Limited, a dynamic realestate agency in Accra.
Under her leadership, akakapahas grown to manage over 1,300
property listings, offeringservices that range from sales,
letting, relocation, managementand then also consultancy.
Yolanda's dedication andinnovation approach has earned
(02:23):
her the recognition, includingthe International Property Award
for Best Real Estate Agencysingle office in Ghana.
Her story is one of resilience,adaptation and visionary
leadership.
Join us today as we explore herjourney, the challenges she
overcame and the insights she isoffering to aspiring
(02:45):
entrepreneurs.
Remember, this lady moved toGhana 30 years ago.
She has made it work all theseyears.
Now today's conversation isreally to delve into what she
has gone through over the years.
What can you learn from her?
Sit with me and do not changethe screen.
(03:05):
My name is Derek Abayte.
Thank you, jolanda, you'rewelcome.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Thank you so much for accepting to sit with me.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
No, I say thank you I really appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
As I say, anytime I reach out to a guest and they
spend time with me, I'm alwaysready to learn, always ready to
listen, and I appreciate it somuch.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Yeah, you're welcome.
I hope I'll be able to sharesome information that are
helpful for you and for others.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Amazing.
So that post I saw on LinkedInwhere they mentioned that you
had been in Ghana for the past30 years and you didn't just,
you know, come to the country,you decided to also set up a
business that support people torelocate as well.
Yeah, and I thought that wasbeautiful.
Take me through your story.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Well, when I came, when we came, my husband and I
and the children at that time Iwas not working, of course,
right, and my husband was bornin Nigeria.
He's Italian, but he was bornin Nigeria, so Africa was
already in the in the picture.
And he had already worked inGhana for a few years, between
(04:17):
87 to 89, and, yes, no, 85 to 89.
And we decided, okay, let's goto Ghana, let's hope that there
are more opportunities there forus compared to what we have in
a small village.
It was a bit of a jump in thedark can I call it like that,
(04:39):
because I've never gone outsideEurope.
It was my first time, you know,in Africa, and with two little
ones, eduardo was three andElisa was six months.
So it was really a bit of anadventure.
And when I came to Ghana, theidea was to stay for four years.
(05:00):
My husband was the projectmanager for the Ridge Tower,
where now Fidelity Bank is, andat that time there was nothing
in Ridge other than the cityhouse and the total house.
The rest was bush on that side.
You know where the Ridgebusiness district is.
(05:20):
And so we came for that projectthinking that we'll stay four
years.
But then Jimmy was asked to doanother project, then go and
work on a crusher for one of themines in Bogoso.
So we, from Accra, we moved toTarqua, and Accra was the
(05:42):
civilized part of the world atthat time, which cannot be
compared to Accra today.
And that was really more of anadventure, because there was
nothing, there was nobody.
It was me and the children andmy husband.
My husband was working 12 to18-hour shifts every day of the
(06:05):
week because the crash had to becompleted within a certain date
, and but we always said thatthe family stays together.
Where one goes, everybody goes,and and that made us stronger
as a family, right, and sothat's what brought us to Ghana,
thinking we'd stay four years.
But then, one contract afterthe other, we stayed and we
(06:30):
started rooting.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
So this is your concept about the family stays
together, right, and one personmoves and the others would have
to follow.
Yes, how did you come up withthat?
It's so beautiful.
Yes, how did you come up withthat?
Speaker 1 (06:46):
It's so beautiful.
Well, first of all, I stronglybelieve in the family and I
think that when a couple issuccessful, as a couple, you can
achieve so much together, right, but a couple to be successful
(07:06):
is not just the love that youhave.
In the beginning, everything is, you know, a lot of passion and
a lot of emotion.
But then, as you go throughlife, challenges come in and
difficulties, other peopleinterfere, and so on.
We always say this is ourfamily, this is what we have to
build, to grow together, to makesure that our children are the
(07:31):
best extension of ourselves.
And so that's one of thereasons why and at that time we
were not very popular we didn'twant to send our children to
boarding school.
We kept the children here afteruniversity, all right, because
we believe.
So the university they went tothe Us, right, but they studied
in ghana.
So um, when eduardo finishes alevels, he went to um.
(07:55):
He was admitted in severaluniversities, but he chose the
us.
So we went to study inprovidence at brown university
andisa same story, but she wasadmitted at the Savannah School
of Art and Design in Georgia.
And that's when we said thechildren now are ready to go.
The education is not.
(08:15):
In our opinion, education isnot just what you get from the
school that's very important butwhat you as a parent can give
your children in terms of value,in terms of understanding what
life is and how you see things,is very important.
And if you let the childrenleave too early, you'll not be
able to give.
This is our opinion and I'm notsaying ours is right, but
(08:38):
that's how we believed.
So we always wanted to betogether and for us, the father
comes home in the evening,spends time with the children.
Saturdays and Sundays arefamily time.
Yes, there can be a birthdayparty, no problem, but for
children to go with theirfriends, but always come back
(08:58):
home.
The family does somethingtogether during the weekend.
So our spirit has always beento make sure that we as a family
are very strong together.
Right, and now that you make mego through this.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Maybe that's the reason why both my children came
back from the us so they wentback, they went to school, they
went to school, and now they'vecome back.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Eduardo worked for four years in the us.
He had a very nice job, butthen they came back to ghana
both of them.
So eduardo works with us in theUS.
He had a very nice job and thenthey came back To Ghana Both of
them.
So Eduardo works with us in thecompany and Elisa has a family
and she has her own business.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
So that's amazing.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
I'm blessed.
Maybe you don't believe, but Ihave children here and
grandchildren, so thegrandchildren are also in Accra,
so I'm blessed.
Speaker 3 (09:42):
You are certainly blessed If I take you back to
when you first came in.
The kids were going to schoolin Accra.
Yeah.
Then you had to move to Tarqua.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Right, not quite.
So we went to Tarqua whenEduardo was five, turning five,
so that year he couldn't go tokindergarten.
They were still in thekindergarten.
He was still in kindergarten inAccra when we moved to Tarco
(10:14):
and Elisa was still not goingbecause she was too little, and
so in that period I was teachingthe children Italian and then I
had so much time there wasnobody to meet, nobody to play
with, so I was the teacher, theone who was playing with them,
and so on.
In Tarqua we were living in theManganese Mine guest house.
(10:39):
It's a huge, I would say callit estate, scattered houses here
and there, but most of thepeople living there were either
bachelors or, you know, husbandand wife, but of a different
generation.
So there was no way really toconnect for the children.
So I was everything for them.
(11:00):
So that's when I spent my timeto start teaching them Italian,
them.
So that's when I spent my timeto start teaching them Italian
and I actually teach themItalian through.
They did the exam in Italy forclass 5, which is, you know,
like from here, is from 6 in GIS, class 5 in in Italy.
So they, with that one, if wehad to go back to Italy and they
(11:20):
had to resume and to startschooling in Italy.
They could resume from Form 7,for instance.
Imagine which for us is primamedia.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
You learned that the standard of living.
What was the impression whenyou first came in?
Speaker 1 (11:39):
I always have a funny story about that, because when
we landed in Accra, the airportwas not what we have now the
airport.
You could be standing here andsee the people arriving there,
collecting the suitcases and getout.
So it was a very small airportand the belt where your
suitcases were coming was justby the entrance.
(12:01):
And then you walk out, and sothe first impression that I had
was how there were so manypeople sitting on the ground
outside the airport, all thesealaji, probably changing, but at
that time I didn't know wherethey were, the alajis and so on.
(12:22):
So that was my first impression,something that you wouldn't see
in Europe or another part ofthe world.
And then, when I was taken tothe house, I remember the
compound was dark and there wasthis very strong noise and I
asked my husband what is thisgoing on here?
I was, you know, around thehouse there was a gutter and a
(12:46):
drain and the frogs there wereso many frogs.
I arrived, I believe it wasraining season because it was
the 30th of april in 1995 and Iremember these frogs don't worry
, they are just frogs anyway,these the whole night.
I still remember them.
So the standard of life wasdifferent, right, in the sense
that at that time Ghana wasAccra, accra, not Ghana.
(13:10):
Why.
It was way simpler than it isnow, in the sense that you know
it was a simple life.
You didn't have so manyexpectations Now.
You have so much forentertainment, restaurants, all
what you want in Accra you canget.
At that time there was nothing.
Supermarkets were not wellfurnished, Restaurants were very
(13:31):
limited in number.
There was no recreationalactivities at all.
Nothing, there was nothing.
So our recreation was TizanoSport Club.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Wow, you know, at that time, if you were telling
somebody about what he had justseen in Africa, that statement
you would have made, and whatyou will today, to tell that
person that there areopportunities in.
Africa.
What would it have been at thattime and now?
Speaker 1 (13:59):
So well now, the opportunities were also at that
time, for sure, but probably itwould have taken a longer time
to succeed, maybe because still,you know, 30 years ago the
economic situation maybe itwasn't so promising.
It's not promising here as well.
(14:20):
We are not in the best of times.
But on the other side, when youlook around, you see people are
spending, see people are,things are happening.
So what would have been my?
Speaker 3 (14:33):
um, I don't know how to answer to this, so pick up
the phone and talk to me right.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
The first month of moving to Ghana right, so right,
maybe maybe at that time I was,I was young, number one and no,
no, no, no.
Can I start again?
Yeah, of course, at that time Iwas younger and less wise and I
(15:02):
was a mother, so I didn't seethings from a business
perspective right.
But maybe because of my familysituation when I was young, when
I was living with my parents, Iadapt very easily to things.
I don't see the challengeitself, I see the solution to
(15:24):
the challenge, and when I wassaying that life in Ghana at the
time was much simpler, I reallymean it.
You know, very basic.
For instance, I came in myhouse, we were brought by the
company and nothing was missing,but it was very basic.
Now, when an expat comes toGhana, the expectations are way
higher.
The quality of life has changedand the expectations have
(15:49):
changed.
So, to answer to you, I wouldhave not been able to give to
someone the feedback of if youcome to Ghana, there are these
opportunities, but I'm in Ghana,I'm happy here, the weather is
always nice, the people are sofriendly and everything is so
simple, and you clink withpeople with no problems, while
(16:12):
in Europe or in Italy it takesmore time before you make
friends before somebody trustsyou and so on, and I think one
of the biggest positives aboutGhana are the Ghanian people.
That's what stays with you, allright.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
Talk to me about that .
Speaker 1 (16:32):
So Ghanians are very friendly.
From the start.
You don't feel they are.
You know you have to be tryingto make friends.
They are open, like you.
Here we have been able toimmediately establish a
connection.
It's not to the same level witheverybody, but it is common.
(16:53):
The second thing I saygenerously despite hardship,
ghanaians are happy people and Iwant to give you an example.
If you go to Europe I use Italyas an example because I'm
Italian and we are known to bevery open, very passionate, very
(17:16):
friendly things have changedanyway.
People have changed in the past30 years, in my opinion, but
you don't have that level ofconfidence, that level of
friendship that you can feel.
Not friendship.
I was going to say easy toconnect.
It's not easy to connect andpeople tend to be mostly grumpy.
(17:37):
Okay, and I always use thisexample when I see a grumpy face
and say what are youcomplaining about?
If you are in Ghana, what agood number of Ghanaians go
through you can't imagine, andthat's why they are looking at
other opportunities.
You know, in other countriesand I use the example of those
(17:59):
are the traffic lights, maybe onthe skateboards or on the
wheelchair, that they come up toyou and they still smile at you
.
Yes, right and they always tryto have a word with you.
So, madam, how are you today?
And how are the children alwaysforget about that.
You will not get this somewhereelse, so it's, it's within the
(18:21):
guinean you know to be, be towelcome you, to establish a
connection with you, to make youfeel good.
Maybe not everybody, but that'show I see the Ghanaian and I
think in general, it's a commonspread feeling that that's how
Ghanaians are.
So I think that's what thefirst impression I would say to
(18:43):
someone about Ghana.
And then the second thing theweather.
The first impression I wouldsay to someone about Ghana.
And then the second thing theweather.
The third thing I would say themango.
They are so sweet.
So, yeah, but now it's about andI always say it If you look at
Ghana in 1995, when I came, andwhere we are today and that's
how we started the conversationearlier there are so many
(19:05):
opportunities in this country.
Okay, look at how of the growthin the past 10 years, how many
things have happened.
How many?
I'm not saying the economy isis fantastic.
Yes, it's difficult, there area lot of issues, but people are
trying to make things happenhere, and so much.
You are an example, right.
(19:28):
So many things that peopledon't even know are available in
Ghana, right, and the healthsystem has improved.
Okay, let's also put it thisway Not for everyone.
Not everything is accessible toeveryone, but I think at all
levels things have improved atall levels at all levels.
(19:49):
So let's use another example.
I don't know if it's yes, Iwant to use this example.
When I came to ghana, publictransport was the majority on
the car, on the on the roadsokay, right, the famous trot
draw with the wooden writing thewriting on the roads.
Okay, right, the famoustrot-troll with the wooden
writing the writing on thewooden.
How do you say back?
(20:14):
Or the small vans?
That was the majority.
And taxi the yellow.
Remember the yellow and browntaxis?
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Yellow and brown.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
I've seen pictures of those.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
That was the majority .
Then start about 20 years ago.
You start seeing more privatecars, More and more and more.
Now what's the majority on theroads?
Private, cars.
So first we get a car, then getsa house, and that's what's
(20:44):
happening, because everybody hasa car and everybody's trying to
build something to have theirown place.
So that's a sign of growth, soat all levels.
So those, let's say that wehave a huge young population
right in Ghana and that's thereis a lot of unemployment.
(21:07):
But you have no idea thepotential of that, because
outside in the Western world wehave a huge old population.
We need the young population.
So now how to combine that, howto get the young population to
be able to get opportunities andopportunities for those people,
(21:29):
also from Ghana, because nowthere is more interest in tech
savvy youngsters that canprovide a service from here for
companies that are outside.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
You know you speak very well about us Ghanians.
This question is do you thinkyou are treated slightly
different because you're Oberoni, compared to maybe the regular
Ghanaian, the native Ghanaian orthe Ghanaian Boga?
(22:08):
You see what I'm trying to say.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Yes, I see what you're trying to say.
Well, it is possible.
But I want to say also that alot of Obruni, they feel the
same and that's why either theystay or they ask to be sent back
at the end of the post.
I know a lot of them.
So it is possible.
It is possible that amongyourselves, ghanaians among
(22:35):
themselves are not.
Maybe, but I don't believe so.
I see in the office among thestaff, even when I'm not part of
conversations, how things work.
There is always somebody with adifferent personality.
That's normal, but in generalthat's the nature, yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
Let me stop you here for a minute.
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and become part of the family.
We are on a journey of changingthe lives of people on this
channel and we appreciate youfor being here, but if you
haven't become part of thefamily, connect with us.
Hit the subscribe button Now.
Let's carry on the conversation.
(23:16):
There must have been a momentin your time here being a parent
as well, with your own kidswhere you were thinking ah maybe
I want to go back.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Well, it's true there have been times where I thought
I was going to go back becauseat certain times maybe the
children need a better education, or maybe when they go to
university.
But life made it in a differentway, because when children were
in school I was working at theBritish Air Commission and at
(23:53):
that time I was locally engagedbecause, of course, I'm Italian,
so they wouldn't like me fromthe foreign office, right.
So I was locally engaged and itwas a perfect job because I
would start at 8 o'clock, I'vealready dropped the children, I
finish at 2 o'clock, I pick themup, we go home, and they were
(24:14):
in good schools in Ghana,Because, of course, as an expat,
you have certain benefits thatthe company helps you with
certain things, like the school,the rent or the medicals, for
instance.
I would say that, more than thechildren, what sometimes I
(24:35):
thought I would have to go backis for health reasons, Because
if you have a serious illnessand I did, my husband also had
Ghana, especially 10 years ago,was still not prepared.
Now things are improving.
So in that situation, in thatcircumstances, I said, okay,
(24:56):
we'll have to go back.
Luckily, we were able toresolve things, get better and
come back and now when I look atit, I say you know what Italy
has to offer to me for a general, let's say generic, health
issue?
Ghana can offer me the same, sothere is no need to travel back
(25:18):
.
And other things happen, we'llsee.
Speaker 3 (25:21):
Thank God.
Thank God, yes, we're in EastLigon right now.
Yeah.
A few minutes away from Trazaco.
I want you to take your mindback 25, 30 years ago.
How?
Was the situation around here,just give me a vivid imagination
(25:43):
of how these areas were.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
So I actually lived in.
Trazaco yeah, from 2004 to 2008,if I'm not wrong, and I was
moving from Tesano in a verysimple house, not nice but not
anything special, to a Trazacohouse, and we all know what
Trazaco is like.
(26:06):
I never felt home.
The house was beautiful, thegarden was very, very large.
Felt home.
The house was beautiful, thegarden was very, very large.
I never felt home because thehouses are so big and I didn't
have that sense of coziness I'mused to because I'm Italian and
because I'm half Dutch.
So you know, in Hollandeverything is, every corner in
the houses is taken, so I neverfelt that sense of warmth and
(26:30):
coziness that that I like inhouse.
But that said, trazaco isbeautiful and it's really, um,
it was really nice place to, to,to living, especially with the
children.
They could go out and, you know, around with the bicycle or go
for a walk or walk the dogs.
But from Trazaco coming to Accra, there there was nothing.
(26:51):
The road was bad and I rememberwhen we started hearing that
the Accra mall, the ANC mall,would open Wow, we will have a
supermarket closed by.
Only then.
Then you realize that thesupermarket is not a walking
distance.
There was nothing If I hadforgotten to buy breads or sugar
(27:13):
.
I had to drive all the way atthat time to Max Mart at 37, or
Koala in Osu.
Imagine Also supermarket.
There weren't so many as thereare now.
If you needed anything urgentin a pharmacy, the closest
pharmacy was inside East Legonand there were just a few, so
otherwise you have to go toairport Clinic.
(27:34):
There was nothing here, therewas really nothing, so it was it
was Tesano in the end wasbetter served.
Okay.
Right, yes.
Or let's say, closer in a sense, to the main amenities of the
city.
So there was nothing.
And now, when you come hereevery week, you see a change in
(27:57):
this Lagon.
You see new shops, newsupermarket.
Oh, they are tearing that road.
It wasn't tired and you know,it's incredible how it is
developing.
In my opinion, I don't thinkI've seen anything of this in
any travels outside Ghana that Idid Go to the US, go to Italy,
go to Europe Everything isalready developed.
(28:19):
So there is a hugegentrification happening in
cantonment, in airport, and newdevelopments here in Estragon
Development, commercial,residential, so a lot going on.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
And then the time came where you said you wanted
to start your own business.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Right, let me explain what happened, because I think
I need to go back a little bit.
So when I was at the BritishHigh Commission, I thought that
was my comfort zone.
It was a comfort zone.
I thought that was my, you know, comfort zone, it was a comfort
zone.
But then I realized that therewas no room for to advance in
career, right.
So first I was data entry.
(29:00):
From data entry you pass to thenext level.
So I was in charge of thegeneral office, so overseeing
data entries from other staff.
Then I was moved to registry andappeals and I finally landed to
visa writing office, which isthe top.
(29:20):
But then, after I think it wasabout two years in visa writing,
you can't see passport andvisas anymore.
I said I need something else.
So I resigned and I said, okay,I want to start studying french
and see if other opportunitiescome my way.
But after two months I got anopportunity to work at Villaggio
(29:41):
as head of sales and marketingfor Villaggio Primavera, which
was the first project.
And at the beginning I wasalone, I didn't have a team and
I was just doing the sales.
Then, as we started sellingwell and so on, the team grew, I
had new staff joining and thenI thought that was my perfect
(30:05):
job and I loved it.
I really did it as if it was myown business because I put
passion in what I do and Iworked there for eight years.
I really did it as if it was myown business because I put
passion in what I do right, andI worked there for eight years.
And never in my life I wouldhave thought that I would have
resigned.
But July 2014 comes and I wasalready suspecting something.
(30:26):
But I found out that I hadbreast cancer.
So when that happened, I had totake a bold decision to resign
and look after myself, becausethe way I was running the
business not running thebusiness, but the way I was
involved in the sales departmentwas so deep that I couldn't say
(30:49):
, oh, it doesn't matter, I cantake one year off, and they can.
You know, everything stays inmy mind and I would always be
concerned that that guy hasn'tsigned the contract, the other
one hasn't paid, I have to call.
I needed to just cut completelyand focus on myself, because
having a cancer affects you alsomentally not only physically,
(31:12):
but mentally and so I resignedand, despite the very
challenging situation I was in,that started growing in me the
need to have something to lookout for in the future for myself
(31:33):
.
And and so probably even beforenot not probably before coming
to Ghana, I was thinking whatcan I do when I go back?
I don't want to be a housewife,because when you are home you
have time to think, and when yougo through some difficult
situations like a cancer,thinking is not good, thinking
about it is not good.
(31:54):
So I needed something that gaveme, you know, a reason every
morning to wake up and be busy.
And, and life brought two thingsto my way.
One was, um, looking for, youknow, setting up a small
business, a part-time job, so Ihave time, time for myself, time
for the family, but I can stillbe busy.
So I was thinking about, youknow, what do I do?
(32:17):
I didn't know yet until I camehere.
And the other thing is a bitmore shocking at that time, but
it was the biggest blessing mydaughters came to me and said I
was just home from the hospitaland says I think I'm pregnant
(32:38):
Ayuto.
That was a shock.
So initially it was not easy todigest, but then I realized
that I realized because somebodyhelped me realize and that that
was a blessing.
So I had two things to look outfor Eliza, and that that was a
blessing.
So I had two things to look outfor Karim, who was going to,
(32:59):
was due to arrive to be born inin March, and and then this idea
of having my business.
And so I started being busypreparing for this little one,
coming and helping my daughterand so on, and I came back to
Ghana in November, then I wentback and then I was back in
Italy and then I came back withmy daughter when the baby was
(33:20):
born, and permanently, andthat's already.
I was preparing, I want to dosomething of my own and I
started meeting with some of mydear clients that I had at
Villaggio and Trasaco and I said, in your opinion, what can I do
?
Because of course I consultedmy husband and we already had a
(33:40):
plan, but I wanted somebody toconfirm that I was going the
right direction and they wouldsay no, no, no, do that, because
that's what you're good at andI'm sure you will succeed.
So I started akakapa as a smallletting agency just helping
expats find a home in ghana andsettle right, and I had already
(34:03):
a few properties through tothese landlords and clients that
I had initially, and othersthen joined, and so the passion
was to help these people makeGhana feel like home, and
probably I managed to do thatbecause I always have this, you
know, enthusiasm about Ghana,about how things are here.
(34:26):
There are a lot of challenges.
I'm not saying that everythingis easy.
Challenges across across, youknow.
Staff adapting to the weathercan be a challenge for people,
and so on, but in general, I seethe positive side and that's
what I bring to the table andand and.
So now I I spoke very long andI don't remember where the
(34:49):
question was, but I told you thestory of how I started at
CACAPA and how it's just bycoincidence, I would have not
resigned if I didn't get thecancer.
So you know.
And then that's where my howcan I say?
I have this motto that whensomething happens, even the
worst thing is because somethinggood will happen after.
(35:11):
So yeah, it was.
I must admit it was intense andit was a year, and that was
when I turned 50.
So it was my 50th birthday, itwas my 25th wedding anniversary
and it was also the worst yearof my life because I discovered
that.
But again, you know, I amblessed that I'm here to tell
(35:35):
this story and I advocate and Ialways make sure that I spread
the voice about cancer and howwomen and men as well, should
always do the checkups oftenenough, yearly at least, because
early detection is key.
(35:57):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3 (36:00):
Then your company Akakapa.
How did you discover moreopportunities?
Outside of what?
You already knew through yournetwork.
Speaker 1 (36:13):
Well, when you are in business or at least for me my
mind is always looking forsomething right.
I'm always looking first of all, I'm always looking how can I
do best what I do?
I can do better what I'm doing,and that's a positive.
It's also a negative, right,because in a way, it bogs me
(36:35):
down, because if I see, likebefore coming here there was a
problem with something, I callall the team and I said this was
wrong, we should have done itthis way.
Can we, from now on, use thisnew system in doing the same
thing right?
And I expect it in a way thatrelates to Aka Kappa?
(36:55):
So, even when you write aletter, it has to be in a format
and in a way that speaks forexactly represent the company,
and this is not something thatyou can expect your team to know
.
You have to keep talking about,you have to keep building in
them how a kakapa is and how youexpect them to be able to
(37:25):
deliver to that standard.
Whether it is a letter, or howyou take a call or how you deal
with a client.
There is a level of expectationour clients have and there's a
level of expectation that Ibuilt, so in the end it's my
fault, because when I deal withyou as a client, I put all my
(37:48):
best in right and because it'smy business, and I think it has
also to do because of the way Iam.
So I try to be.
Speaker 3 (37:56):
But you also find that that becomes an edge on its
own.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
Oh yes.
Speaker 3 (38:02):
And because sometimes what we see here in many you
know Ghanaian companies is thatthey don't go that extra mile to
take care of their customers.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (38:14):
So if one person decides to put their all in that
business, they get a lot ofclients, because that's what
people want, the expectation andexperience that people.
It's the experience.
Speaker 1 (38:24):
There you go, it's the experience and this is
something that I frequently usewith staff when I'm talking
about customer experience,something that I frequently use
with staff.
When I'm talking about customerexperience, you know, when you
go in and I use the shop or in arestaurant and the shop
attendant or the waiter goes theextra mile and make sure that
(38:44):
you have a good experience, thatyou're happy.
There is not it's nothingspecial, but it's just to show
that you're doing your best forthat person.
I will go back to thatrestaurant or to that shop just
because of that.
Sometimes it's more theexperience than how nice the
restaurant is or how good thefood is, and the same in the
(39:06):
shop.
So when I go to a supermarketand I go to the counter, I
always go to the counter wherethe lady is friendly and she
talks to me in a better way orshe's more helpful.
You know, it's natural you aredrawn by that because you make a
better connection In customerservice, in customer experience.
There is so much to do, so manyopportunities in Ghana, because
(39:33):
I think the people are ready tolearn to do so many
opportunities in Ghana, becauseI think the people are ready to
learn.
Only that there isn't enoughtraining in that.
Speaker 3 (39:40):
Let me stop you here for a minute.
If you've been watching thisshow, I want you to subscribe
and become part of the family.
We are on a journey of changingthe lives of people on this
channel and we appreciate youfor being here, but if you
haven't become part of thefamily, connect with us.
Hit the subscribe button Now.
Let's carry on the conversation.
(40:00):
What are you doing differently?
Speaker 1 (40:09):
from what I'm supposed to do for my company,
so I can learn Right.
So, first of all, are youreferring to customer care or in
general, yes customer care.
You don't, though we would wantto say I trained you to do this
and now you know how to do it.
You have to handle it yourself,you have to keep training, you
have to keep monitoring, youhave to keep insisting, and the
(40:33):
reason is so.
If you work at a kakapa, youwork in a nice environment,
air-conditioned, people aroundyou are friendly and so on, and
you are expected at a certainlevel.
The moment you get out, you aremaybe going into public
(40:55):
transport, you are going to themarket, so your standard of
expectation drops, isn't it?
If you are in a publictransport, you don't expect
their condition, you don'texpect the mate to be polite, or
when you go to the market, youknow that it comes with some
(41:20):
challenges.
So you, as the user, drop yourlevel of expectation.
And it's not right for me toexpect all the times that, when
you come back into the Aka Kappaenvironment, where everything
is neat, the condition is on,everything is in place and so on
, you bring up your level again.
(41:42):
So it's a continuous.
You know making sure that theyare clear with the standard.
That's number one.
When there are challenges withclients stepping and help, don't
expect that your employee canhandle all the challenges you
and and that sometimes is verytime consuming, but it is
(42:05):
necessary you have to be able tostep in and assist that member
of staff in resolving theproblem.
So the next time somethingsimilar happens because there is
no procedure or training thatyou can give, that has
everything already in it Humansituations where a client gets
(42:27):
upset or you haven't said theright thing happen despite any
training right.
So you have to constantly bringin training and I think one.
One other thing I do differentis I bring the passion and I try
so much to pass on my passionto my staff.
It's not easy.
(42:47):
It's the level of and I willsay, is the level of energy that
you give out that will give yousomething in return.
So even when you are dealingwith a client, if your level of
energy is good, is positive, youpositively charge the other
person.
The other person connects withyou and then you go.
But if he's dull, you areaverage, they will go with
(43:08):
somebody who has better energy.
Speaker 3 (43:12):
I've learned so much.
Okay.
You know all those things youjust said, I've just learned.
I've learned so much, I mean.
I think that's why usually forme, when I'm employing- I love
people who are proactive.
I just that's like my numberone.
You know, don't wait for thingsto all go bad before you start
(43:36):
thinking.
Somebody who?
Can think on their feet.
Think very quickly, act veryquickly before problems start
happening.
You know, but you find that thatlevel of quality is very low
here and you have to keep goingthrough CVs upon CVs and
interviews upon interviews toget that quality.
And even when you've gotten aCPDs KPIs, you just have to keep
(44:00):
going.
Speaker 1 (44:01):
And this is a challenge that all employers
have, and it's sad, it's reallysad.
Yesterday I was at the CEOsummit at the Kempinski right,
and so then you are there withother CEOs, other managing
directors.
They all share the samefrustration, they all share the
same frustration and you see, Ithink there are a lot of reasons
(44:26):
why, and it's not only in Ghana, in my opinion Maybe it can be
a bit more complicated here butit's also a generational problem
, okay, okay.
So yesterday one of my stafftold me oh, I always listen to
that podcast and that made methink.
Podcast For this generation,podcast is like reading a book
(44:50):
right, it's the way you learn,and for me it's still the book.
Right, I still need to have thebook in my hands to learn.
For the new generations, thepodcast is a different way of
learning and I said, okay, sothis maybe is one of those
(45:10):
people that are maybe more intopodcasts than on social media.
The reason that I'm bringingthis in is that I feel that the
more we are on social media andthe more shallow we are, because
we keep scrolling, jumping fromone thing to the other without
(45:31):
going in depth.
We love the news to be justheadlines we don't go and read.
So the headlines can be sodeceiving because the way you
put the words, but if you go indepth in reading an article, you
know more, you understandbetter.
So I think it's generationalbecause of that, because social
media doesn't help, and forGhana, youth and I keep saying
(45:55):
that when I employ people, so Iemploy for attitudes.
Okay, right, Are you proactive?
What is your energy?
Are you?
And they come very wellprepared to the interviews and
I'm sure it happened to you andto other employers.
God, is it the same person thatI interviewed?
How come the output is sodifferent?
(46:15):
Sometimes I say it's theinterview system.
So we craft new questions andwe make you do a test there and
then we come up with some thinkon the spot, difficult questions
and we still make the mistake.
And it's sad because there is a, as I said, a high number of
(46:40):
unemployed young people and theyall deserve an opportunity.
Right, you wish you could giveeveryone an opportunity.
That's not possible.
And then, when you realize thatyou made a mistake or that the
person is not what you hadexpected, you have invested in
that person because you have togive three months training
before you are able to establishoh, it's not working right.
(47:04):
So we introduced, for instance,last year apart from an hr.
We are not a big company.
But we said I can't handle allthese children that I have here
by myself and my husband andEduardo.
So we employed an HR and I mustsay it was a very good decision
.
But then we said, okay, we needto improve our training.
(47:25):
So we have a person dedicatedto training, only Specialized
training throughout ourprocesses.
Three months of training, testtraining, test practice, this
and that and that, and still.
So I have a word for the youngpeople listening to this it's on
you to succeed.
It's on you to be eager tolearn.
(47:47):
Come to a company.
Say me Excel, I know it.
Upside down.
Every industry in any business.
You need Excel.
Say me excel, I know it.
Upside down every industry inany business you need excel.
You need to really know it.
Don't say I know 60.
When I look at it it's like god.
Not even at the start youshould be that low.
You need to know how to usemicrosoft, all the microsoft
(48:08):
applications.
You need to be very conversantwith ai.
Now Come and show how good youare, and then you have an edge,
because then you say, okay, thisperson has all what it takes to
start.
Well, but if I have to employsomebody that doesn't know how
to use Excel, well, I have tostart from the training, from
very low, and so it takes longerfor that person to be able to
(48:32):
really be productive.
That's the reason why I employsomebody to have something in
return.
Right, and that is what I see.
There is no.
Very, very few have thateagerness to learn.
They can't prepare it, even ifsometimes knowing how to use
this application is moreimportant than certain degrees,
(48:56):
university degrees.
And again, school is notpreparing this generation to
come to work.
The national service is notpreparing them.
So we have national servicethat go out of here, from Aka
Kappa, and they find a job rightaway, or they stay because they
are good and we say please, nowthat you've learned, stay.
We don't treat them as nationalservice.
(49:19):
Actually, by the way, I treatthem much better.
Yes, I make sure that.
Speaker 3 (49:26):
Some of the things you've mentioned here.
If there's anyone that haswatched this episode or listened
to this episode up until thispoint, I think you need to
rewind.
You need to rewind it, maybeabout 10 minutes.
Right and then listen to itagain, because I think this is
(49:48):
the key.
I have seen students who arelearning how to use a computer
simply by the teacher drawing iton the board.
There's no practice, right?
I remember sodium chlorideexperiment.
(50:10):
I had to remember the formula.
Yeah.
There's no actual doing.
That is happening Today, withthe age of the internet.
You can go on the internet withyour phone and learn everything
you need to know.
Yeah, my son, six-year-old,knows how to use Excel.
(50:32):
He can generate a bar chart,but then you have somebody that
comes out of university and theystruggle.
Six-year-old knows how to useExcel.
He can generate a bar chart,but then you have somebody that
comes out of university and theystruggle.
Speaker 1 (50:41):
So I need to take you back a little bit more.
It comes from the family.
If, in the family, from day oneand I really mean day one you
stimulate your children inlearning and you talk to them as
adults.
I am doing this because, evenlike, let's switch the light on
(51:02):
and you show them how to switchit on, how to switch it off from
the very early stage, somethingthat or you go up the stairs
and you count with them, or youdo things and you involve them
in doing that.
They are eager to learn, but ifyou keep telling your children,
go in the other room, this isthe room for the adults.
What are they learning?
(51:25):
So it is also the education, andI think the generation who
raised these youngsters is theone that has been busy with work
, trying to make a living and soon.
They didn't have, they didn'tunderstand, or they no, they
didn't understand.
I think the right word is theymissed the importance of
(51:50):
bringing up their children withyou know the practical aspect of
life, the learning, becauseeverything that you learn is
gold for you, because you're notleaving it to somebody else.
It stays with you and you.
The more you learn, the moreyou grow, the more you can do so
(52:10):
many things.
I I always say what you learn inTanka Kappa, you've learned it
here.
You can take it everywhere.
It's to high standard, but youhave to learn it.
You have to learn it and youwill be richer and have more
opportunities.
So I think for me with littlechildren, it's there that you
(52:32):
start to grow their minds.
You can start growing a mindwhen you're in university.
That's to start from whenyou're little.
So if your child wants to usethe iPad or the computer to
learn how to use applications,let him be.
If it's too long on iPad ongames, take it, throw it and let
(52:53):
the person play.
The little child play with Legoor do other things that are
creative.
Make them think how do I, Iwant to do that, how do I do it?
And you have to think andthat's how.
Speaker 3 (53:07):
And come up with ideas.
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (53:10):
So I feel that that's one of the problems that we
have.
That's why.
Speaker 3 (53:14):
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger
self what would it?
Speaker 1 (53:18):
be, Well, so again we go back to our parents, right?
If I could give a piece ofadvice, I would say I should
have left home earlier.
I left home quite early, butnot early enough, and I should
(53:40):
have imposed myself to my father.
My father was an Italian,old-fashioned Italian macho, so
he is the boss in the family.
He knows what is right for you.
My passion was to study medicine, become a pediatrician.
I always loved children and Ithought that's what I want to do
, and if I had done that, maybeI would have not come to Ghana
(54:04):
and things would have beendifferent.
But in Ghana I would have madea good living because it's a
profession, but not only inGhana anywhere.
And so my father would notallow my mom to speak Dutch in
the family, so I didn't speak asecond language at home, while
my children speak.
Eduardo speaks four languagesand Elisa speaks three,
(54:27):
including three, so, which Isorry, I have to admit I don't
speak very bad, but I ended upworking in only English-speaking
environments and it was notAnyway.
So I would say to the youngestmyself impose yourself.
(54:48):
If you know that that's yourpassion, fight Really, fight for
it.
And if I have to give the sameadvice to parents let your
children do what their passionis.
Don't tell them oh, I'm alawyer, you should be a lawyer,
I'm a doctor, you should be adoctor.
Let them follow their passion.
They will do much better inlife.
Speaker 3 (55:10):
I love that statement .
I love it the last one you made, but you know you made a
statement earlier when youmentioned that the parents were
very busy trying to make endsmeet for the family, so those
same parents are now thinking tothemselves if I let this guy
(55:32):
follow his passion he might notbe able to bring in the money to
support the family.
You see the way they'rethinking.
Speaker 1 (55:41):
Oh no, absolutely.
I'm also a parent like that.
Speaker 3 (55:43):
Right.
So sometimes it's like theywant to draw a line very quickly
and say hey, I'm struggling atthe moment to take care of you.
Now I know one of our neighborswhose son is a doctor and he's
making a good living for himselfand taking care of his mom.
(56:04):
So maybe for that reason I'mgoing to push this young boy to
become a doctor by any means.
So then it takes that boy awayfrom what he really wants to do,
and it's a difficult one, isn't?
Speaker 1 (56:17):
it.
It is very much so as a parent.
I always say that being aparent is the most difficult job
yeah, they should have told usyeah no, but the good thing is
that you learn on the job.
That's true, that's true.
So now, what I think is this sopassion is what drives us to be
(56:38):
the best, no matter whichpassion.
If I have a passion for cookingand I love cooking for my
family I will really make a goodmeal right, even if I'm not
good.
But with time I will learn andI will make sure, because it's
in my passion, and I will do itbest.
You said you have a passion forthis and you do it beyond what I
was expecting to find right sothe the parent has to be able to
(57:04):
be so many things but also toread in the personality of the
children and say, okay, thepassion, this person is so good
at that.
If you want your child to be adoctor, and every time he
scratches himself a little bloodhe faints, that person cannot
be a doctor, right.
(57:24):
So, yes, you can push, you canadvise.
I did advise my children, I didadvise, but I advised, I guided
.
I didn't enforce, my fatherenforced.
I didn't do what I liked in life.
I would have never thought Iwould be a soul person.
I would have never thought thatI would end up in real estate.
It was just, life happened andthat's where I am.
(57:46):
But my passion was not thisthen.
That I put passion in what I dois a different thing.
But if I had to do what I liked, it would have been something
else.
So me, to make ends meet, I amdoing, or I started doing,
things that I didn't have apassion for Right.
(58:07):
Then it evolved and real estateis my passion.
But it's a coincidence, I mighthave ended up being a
shopkeeper.
Speaker 3 (58:20):
I get it, it makes sense.
Speaker 1 (58:21):
You see.
So helping children find theirpassion and make sure the
passion is not.
You know there are so, andnowadays there are so many
professions that you can do thatare new.
So technology, for instance, weshould have started 10 years
ago to push everybody into thatRight as we are evolving.
(58:45):
Research technology is stillsomething, but there are so many
professions.
So not because you are a lawyeror your neighbor is a doctor,
be a doctor, because that doctor, if he doesn't like it, will
make so many people not survive.
Speaker 3 (59:04):
Yolanda, is there any question that I could have
asked you today, that I didn't,that we could still talk about?
Speaker 1 (59:13):
Oh, wow, that is.
You know I can talk forever, sothat's me um questions.
Well, maybe what we could touchon is on real estate, because
and even yesterday people come,young people, come up to me in
in real estate or working forand, yolanda, I would want you
(59:36):
to be my mentor and and,honestly speaking, I don't have
the time to be a mentor.
I really don't, because realestate is so, oh, this business
is so demanding.
When you are into services, youare not selling an item to
somebody and that person walksaway with that item.
(59:56):
In services, you have so muchmore work around it the way you
establish the initial contact,the way you build a relationship
, the way in our case then, theway you conduct the viewing, the
way you follow up on thecontract, and you have multiple
parties involved, from a buyerto a seller or a tenant and a
(01:00:19):
landlord, an artisan to do theworks, and your staff to the.
So, really, my day.
I have applied for nine days aweek and 30 hours a day, but God
said I have to do with what hehas given everybody else.
The time is never enough.
But what I want to say to allthose who are out there who ask
(01:00:41):
me you know, how can I make itto succeed?
First of all, passion.
You have to have a passion.
Don't go into real estate justbecause you think it's
money-making.
It's a whole lot of hard work.
You think it's money making,it's a whole lot of hard work.
Second, and I think that worksfor any business, this and this
the passion.
(01:01:02):
And you have to be a workaholic.
You cannot set up a business andnot be, you know, into it all
the times to make sure thatgradually, you grow and you
improve.
You don't grow just by havingmore properties or more items to
sell, right, you grow byimproving the way you give your
(01:01:25):
service.
And to improve, you have tolearn, you have to study, you
have to put in place processesand procedures.
There is so much around thatand I feel that everybody thinks
that real estate is so easy.
It is so complicated and inGhana it's even more complicated
(01:01:45):
because of all.
We know the challenges and youknow, ensuring ownership,
quality of construction, whichis not always guaranteed, though
now we see that.
You know, skyline is changing,there are beautiful buildings
coming up and definitely thestandard is raising, I will say,
(01:02:08):
but there is still a lot of,you know, wrongdoing on the
market.
So that's what I will say.
Those who want to venture inreal estate, they should do it
right.
They should just take the timefirst, learn and do one thing at
a time and do it right withpassion.
I work very many hours so manyhours, so yeah, Amazing.
Speaker 3 (01:02:34):
And now there are three favorite questions that we
ask on this podcast.
Usually in the end, right, butbefore I ask those questions on
the 29th of august at thebritish council, uh, we're doing
our first connected minds liveevent now it's going to be for
only 250 people and all thedetails are going to be in the
(01:02:54):
description.
You can register and then we'llgo through and see which people
we think would benefit from theconversations we're going to
have.
My question to Yolanda ismotivation or discipline.
Speaker 1 (01:03:10):
I know you have to have both.
You definitely have to haveboth the passion and the
motivation.
I will consider the same If youare passionate, you are
automatically motivated.
And the discipline if you arenot disciplined, you cannot put
(01:03:31):
structure to what you do.
So for the person, for theemployer, the same way you have
to motivate your staff, but youalso have to give the discipline
, and by discipline I mean theprocedure, the process, the
roadmap that takes that personto perform the task from here to
there.
But I can give you all thediscipline that I have, but if
(01:03:55):
you're not motivated you willnot do it.
And on the other hand, you canbe so much motivated, but if I
don't help you with thediscipline, with the structure,
you will not achieve.
So the two go together Amazing.
Speaker 3 (01:04:09):
There's always a different perspective when we
ask, and I've asked thisquestion more than 120 times.
I hope I answered the question.
Speaker 1 (01:04:15):
Oh no, you did.
You certainly did.
Speaker 3 (01:04:17):
Now is the best advice you've ever received.
Ha, Uh-huh.
Speaker 1 (01:04:24):
Right Three.
Okay, the first one will be youshouldn't marry that man.
So when I met my husband I wantto be sure, because this is an
answer.
But when I met my husband, Imet him on it was really a
coincidence in Milan.
He was coming from Ghana, I wascoming from the eastern part of
(01:04:47):
Italy at a birthday.
I didn't know anybody there, Ijust knew somebody, only one
person.
He had a few friends there.
So we meet at this birthday andit was the 7th of June.
And then back right.
In that way it was really umchemistry at the first, at the
(01:05:07):
first um encounter, and then fora week I didn't sing, we only
spoke on phone.
My mother-in-law would say thebiggest telephone bill I've ever
seen in my life.
And then when we met the secondtime, we met in his village,
and not really his village.
(01:05:28):
I was in charge of that area,so I went for some sales meeting
and so on, and then he took meto his family and says you know,
we are getting married Likethat, I swear like that, and we
are getting married at the endof the year.
And of course I had agreed andso on.
But then I rewinded a little bitand said maybe I should ask for
(01:05:49):
some advice, and I couldn't.
I was not in good terms, as youcan imagine, with my father.
So I had another person who wasmy mentor.
Unfortunately, he passed awayand I took Jimmy to him.
So before I realized, thismentor took Jimmy on the side
and started talking.
I could see the two of themreally talking deeply.
(01:06:10):
I said, oh God.
And then they come out from theroom and he says you should
really marry that young man.
And I listened, right?
So if I had an hesitation afterthe first, after the first,
let's say decision, and that wasthe best advice in my life,
(01:06:33):
right?
So we are now married 30 yearswith jimmy and, um, yeah, we are
blessed.
No, I'm lying, I've been goneat 30 years, but I'm married 35
years sorry, 36 this year.
And so that was the first, um,best advice.
I will say.
The second best advice was andthis, this comes from Jimmy do
(01:06:56):
something for yourself.
If you want to set up yoursmall company, go for it.
You will do so well and we willgrow the companies and so on.
So these are the best twoadvices.
I would have not done thesecond one without the first one
.
Speaker 3 (01:07:11):
I love it.
You know, whenever the adviceis about marriage, I love it and
I usually feel like let me turnoff the cameras and turn off
the audios and then so that Ican carry on listening to the
advice.
Right, because 35 years ofmarriage, that's a lot of
experience a lot we can learnfrom.
Speaker 1 (01:07:27):
Go back to passion, motivation and discipline.
It also also works in inmarriage and teamwork works in
the marriage and teamwork,teamwork.
And it's never always perfect,perfect, but if you teamwork, if
you team together, you willresolve the problems.
Speaker 3 (01:07:42):
Love it, love it.
The last question we have isrecommend a book that our
viewers listeners can also readcan you pause and let me check?
Speaker 1 (01:07:54):
Well, first of all, I read in Italian, so, and I
don't read in English.
I read in Italian, okay, and Iread so many books that I
wouldn't be able to A book aboutwhat?
The question?
Speaker 3 (01:08:14):
About improvement self-improvement business a book
about about what the questionabout improvement,
self-improvement business,mindset, success and also
because the titles are inItalian, so I will give you
right, but I wouldn't.
Speaker 1 (01:08:27):
I wouldn't use one book alone for me, and and I'm
I'm so hungry to always when Ihave a question.
Now, char Gpt is my best.
Speaker 3 (01:08:38):
So, while Yolanda is getting as a book, have a look
at this image.
Those of you that did not seethis image on LinkedIn, this is
an image of her and the kids,right.
Speaker 1 (01:08:49):
Eduardo, yeah, and Elisa.
Speaker 3 (01:08:52):
Yeah, beautiful.
We're going to try and put thison the introduction as well.
It's just beautiful, thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:08:59):
Yeah, my husband took that picture.
And that's where we were simple, right, yes, yeah, yeah, I
wouldn't be able to give you onebook in particular.
Okay, no, I wouldn't be able togive a book in particular.
Um, no, I wouldn't be able togive a book in particular, but I
think, um, if I have to sayself-improvement now, there is
(01:09:22):
so much about self-improvementduring covid, for instance is
when I discovered um youtube forself-development.
yeah, I mean it's like a neverending resource.
But you need to also find whatworks for you, because there are
certain books you start and yousay this is not what works for
(01:09:44):
me, and it's like sports.
You may like golf, and if Iplay golf I'll beat you because
I don't have the patience forthis ball to go into the hole.
My son plays golf.
He's been playing golf sincethe age of nine.
He's always had a chimota andthat's his passion.
For me, it's tennis, and Idon't play anymore.
(01:10:04):
So you know, it's not one bookin particular that you can
recommend, but reading.
Reading, not scrolling is whatI recommend.
Speaker 3 (01:10:15):
It's important, yeah, recommend, yeah, right.
I'd like to say thank you somuch once again for your time.
You've shared so much.
I've learned so much.
I know these awesome people aregonna learn too.
Speaker 1 (01:10:29):
I really appreciate and okay it was.
It was not something that youprepare for, right.
It's something.
Yes, you know, maybe you havean idea of which questions are
coming your way, but I like thefact that it's a natural thing
that you don't have to rehearseand come here with prepared
questions, like when you arehaving a video, one of these
(01:10:49):
real estate videos that I hate.
So thank you very much.
I am honored that I've beeninvited to this and I hope I've
been helpful to somebody.
Speaker 3 (01:10:59):
You certainly have, thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:11:00):
Thank you so much Thank you Now.
Speaker 3 (01:11:02):
My name is Derek Abaiti and, like I always say,
if you made it to the end, Iwant you to leave a comment
below and let me know thatyou're one of those people.
Stay connected, I'm out.
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