Today on the show, you get to meet the two most important and influential people in my life: My parents, Bola and Kingsley Oghogho!
In this episode, we’ll discuss big topics surrounding family and business. I’ll be asking my parents about their reaction when I decided to leave corporate America, their biggest fears when I started a business of my own, and what advice they would give to parents whose children are strong-willed and creative. Plus - they will try, on air, to describe what it is that I do for a living. Any creative professional should be so lucky.
This episode is an important reminder that your family is your biggest support system, but that your dreams come from above and within. Don’t let anyone’s fears hold you back.
Enjoy this family-first episode of The Podcast Trapper!
My parents on what I was like growing up
I have the last of five children born to strict Nigerian parents. My mom and dad always wanted the best for me, but they have totally different approaches to raising me. Looking back, it’s easy to see how my most prominent qualities made me the entrepreneur I am today. But at the time, I know I put my parents through it!
As a child, I was happy but very stubborn. That quality shines through now as an adult, but it benefits me in ways they could not have imagined. I always did what I wanted.
When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a lawyer. I was enrolled in various extracurricular activities in high school including debate and FBLA, which stands for Future Business Leaders of America. We won competitions in debate and while I was proud of our achievements, I was more inspired by my FBLA group. It was the first time I began considering what it would be like to start a business instead of becoming a lawyer.
Before The Podcast Trapper, I was…
People often ask me how I became an entrepreneur in podcasting. It’s not the linear path one could have foretold. I got my degree and began a corporate career.
I was in management at the corporate level and I worked in a rigid and structured environment. I was a hard worker and I was constantly rising in the ranks. I won’t lie, the stability of corporate life was nice. But I didn’t feel stimulated by it. Deep down, I knew I was meant for more.
You can hear more about my background and story in this episode.
The thing is, it was time for me to take a risk - and my parents had mixed reactions to me leaving corporate America!
My parents’ reactions to me leaving corporate America
When I left corporate life, my father wasn’t surprised. In his words, “Your personality cannot survive too long in corporate america!” My father knew that my motivated work ethic would keep taking me farther and farther, but that it would actually be my downfall because I am more of a leader than a follower.
However, my mother was surprised…and frankly, she wasn’t exactly supportive. When I announced that I didn’t want to do corporate management anymore, panic set in. She was the voice of all fears about starting my own business: What about stability? Will you have health insurance? You’ll lose your benefits! How will you make a steady income?
My mom also had concerns about me having work-life balance, which I have never completely had. She tried pointing out the fact that in a corporate career, you can leave your work behind and go home and live your life. But truth be told - back when I worked in corporate America, I worked a second and third job in the evenings and on weekends. I have always made things happen - I just get to have more control now!
My parents’ biggest fears about me starting my own business
My father did not worry too much when I went to start my own business. As he said, ‘you have your act together.” He may have had his concerns, but I don’t think he was super apprehensive about it.
My mother was mostly worried that my bills would not be paid. I think she had watched me build so much - and she did not want me to lose it all.
In the episode about the cost of opening a podcast studio, I detailed what my life looked like financially before I launched Adode Media. I did not take out loans or put everything on credit. I paid for it, with money I had saved from my multiple jobs. Despite this, I know that what I did was a financial risk, and that it scared my mom.
I also had my mortgage covered because I had a rental, and my only costs of living were my car and my food. Regardless, my mom worries about me.
The cost of opening the physical studio factored into their fears about me starting a business, big time. Fortunately, my first studio was rented on a month-to-month basis. If I’m being honest with you, I was scared too! It was July 2021 and times were very uncertain. I even got covid insurance to make sure that my costs would be covered if we went through another major shutdown or suffered any huge losses.
My parents on what I do for a living
Many creatives joke about what their parents think they do for a living. Despite literally shadowing me here at the studio, my parents are always learning new things about what it is that my team does here! Now, my father calls podcasting “like broadcasting but more personalized.”
The big change in their perception of my career happened when they attended Blk Pod Festival with me, here in Atlanta. Physically seeing the community I have created impacted them and how they feel about my job.
My mother says that she was “blown away,” and my father was so impressed by my work and the conference as a whole that he, and I quote, “started to understand the potential of this business.” The truth is, Blk Pod Collective is the first paid podcasting community. Nothing like it had ever existed before. If I had given in to the doubts people had about it, then I may not have taken some of the important risks I took early on. I am so proud of Blk Pod Collective and the Festival, which has impacted so many lives.
Advice from my parents on how to prepare your children for independence
If there’s anything my parents accomplished with me, it is that I am independent and I do what’s right for my business. So much of this success, I owe to myself. But my parents are my biggest support system and their words echo in my head whenever I make big decisions!
My father shows up in a supportive way. Since he knows that I will do what I want anyways, he asks me questions like, “What would be the downside of doing this?” Even when I am not around him, I ask myself that question whenever I am doing something of importance. I also think about what my dad calls “calculated risks.” What’s a calculated risk, and what is just…a risk? I believe personally that I am a master of calculated risk, thankfully.
My father’s advice for other parents is to encourage kids to get a college education, then support them in whatever they want to do. Education is really important to him and he would never have allowed me not to go to college. To my father, a solid foundation is what supports you when the going is tough, and beyond that, you can experiment. Risks are okay, as long as you can always get a job!
My mother is a disciplined person and she always has a lot of concern for others. She is fearful of change and I scared her when I went out on my own, but I hope she is impressed with what we’ve done here at Adode Media.
When I was younger, my mom’s emphasis was on reading and school work - not on extracurricular activities. She was annoyed by my work in FBLA and in the debate team, because she did not want it detracting from my success in school. However, those activities were basically what led to me being able to become an entrepreneur!
Despite these concerns, my mother can step out from behind her fear and think about my overall happiness. Her advice, like my father’s, is to help build a strong foundation in your kids. But then you have to ask them - “Are you happy?”
The lesson: Go your own way
My parents are my life’s biggest champions and my support system. However, they don’t blindly support everything I do.
I hope this encourages you to go your own way. The thing is, if I did exactly what they told me to do, I would not be happy, and I would not be an entrepreneur. I care about my parents, but I listen to myself and God when it comes to major life decisions.
Your visions do not have to make sense to other people. They might doubt you, scare you, ask the hard questions - and that’s their job! But it’s your job to do what you believe is the right thing. After you succeed, they’ll show up and suddenly they’ll be so supportive.
That’s all for today’s episode!
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