LagosMums Mum of The Month- Ife Durosinmi-Etti

Our Lagosmums mum of the month is Ife Durosinmi-Etti. Mum of two, wife, the Founder/CEO of Herconomy(formerly AGS Tribe), Entrepreneur, Mandela Washington Fellow, Founder of Parliamo Bambini, Sales and Marketing Expert, Mentor, and Author.

Please tell us about yourself.

I am Ife Durosinmi-Etti, CEO of Herconomy, a wife and mother to two beautiful children. With over 10 years of management and leadership experience. I have a first degree in Biochemistry and an MBA in Global Business. I am from a large family, I grew up knowing that family is key and in all, every member of the family is important.

Can you share more on all the hats you wear?

This always makes me laugh when I am asked. I’ll say that I am a mom, a wife, an entrepreneur, a global leader, an advocate for women, a Brand influencer and a team player.

Share one unexpected thing about you.

I cry a lot and irrespective of all the hats I wear, I still find time to enjoy life.

Do you and your spouse have the same parenting style?

My parenting style is authoritative, I think. I set clear rules and expectations for my kids while practising flexibility and understanding. What I try to do is to communicate frequently; and openly. I am also a good listener and I take into consideration my children’s thoughts, feelings and opinions when my children do something wrong, I use it as an opportunity to teach them something.

I set clear rules and expectations for my kids while practising flexibility and understanding. What I try to do is to communicate frequently, and openly. Click To Tweet

Can you tell us one of the funniest things your children have done?

???? Wami said this ‘Britisher’ than me one day. I laughed so hard.

What do you love the most about all the many expressions of
your purpose/passion?

I love the fact that my journey has many ups and downs and is evolving into something so beautiful. I know I’ve been called to women, at the time when I just realized it, it seemed very blurry, but now, the road seems clearer. With each step, thousands of women have been blessed, from the time I was only offering CV writing to building a strong community, to now building a bank for women in Africa. It has honestly been a beautiful journey and I love that.

Share what you love most about your work, as the Founder/CEO of Herconomy, a World Bank Youth Advisor, and an Entrepreneur.

I love the fact that I get to work and meet some of the most beautiful women from all over the world building amazing businesses and careers. I love the fact that through Herconomy, we get to move the needle to increase the number of women who have access to bank accounts and financial services. This will create a long-term ripple effect of empowered women who will transform Africa.

How did the AGS Tribe evolve into Herconomy? Tell us what inspired it.

We started out as a community for women and we were empowering them through capacity building, networking and access to opportunities such as grants, jobs etc. We ran the community for over 2 years and were very successful while doing it, but we realized that we couldn’t really empower women to the extent we wanted if they didn’t have money but I didn’t know what to do about it. One day, on Instagram, I shared my savings story and so many people sent me messages saying they were earning well but could not save. I then realized so many women were like me who had issues when it came to saving. Then an opportunity presented itself to run a savings challenge. Over 500 women joined the Challenge and all together, we saved almost 100,000 USD in a few months.

Seeing how well that grew, we decided we were going to build our
own savings platform and that’s how we birth Herconomy.

How important is a support system for a mum? Who is in your tribe and what kind of support do you have?

Personally, I can’t do anything without my support system. I’m trying to build a Unicorn. The work is immense. Sometimes, I have to travel, sometimes, I have to work late. I’m thankful for the help I have in-house. I’m also thankful for a family that is ready to step in to help at any time.

How do you balance work and parenting? Is it possible to achieve this?

I believe balance is doing your best each day, especially for my children. Once I know in my heart that I am doing my best, I am at peace.

I believe balance is doing your best each day, especially for my children. Once I know in my heart that I am doing my best, I am at peace. Click To Tweet

What is most challenging about finding balance?

Time! Sometimes there simply isn’t enough of it. I have learnt to prioritise and always do the most important things first.

What has motherhood taught you about yourself?

Motherhood has taught me many lessons in patience.

What is one motherhood myth, you would like to burst?

That you must breastfeed and that it comes easy. That’s a big lie. As big as my boobs are, not a drop of milk came out. My kids still grew up healthy from drinking Formula. By the way, they both came out at 2.5kg (My exact prayer)????. Oh yes, I have another one too, that you must bathe for your kids every day, or you’re not a good mum .????

Use one word to describe one thing that should not be missing from every home.

Peace. In the absence of peace, there is no love; when there is no love, there is no home! Asides from that, Diffusers and good cutlery, I’m obsessed!

Share one self-care tip. How do you relax and spend time on yourself?

Self-care tip? Don’t care about what people say about you. Focus on being a good person and doing your best each day, you’d be very healthy ????. I also get a massage done at least once a week.

Can you tell us how you stay stylish and your beauty routine?

To be honest, my style is very simple tomboy-ish. I honestly do not have the energy o combine different outfits which is why my go-to outfits are simple block-coloured dresses or joggers, but people still manage to ask me about my style. So weird, because I do not put in any extra effort. But beauty, ah! Hello Perfect is my plug. I just do anything they tell me to do, no questions asked. I currently use Mesoetetic and Bioderma products. Works perfectly for my skin.

What do you love about LagosMums?

I love that it’s a community that shares real truths about motherhood. We all need that. I experienced so many unexpected things as a new mum, I wish I had the opportunity to speak to new mums at the time.

#Mumgoals Trivia

○ N1 Million or more sleep?

More sleep.

○ Would you prefer to go on a shopping spree or an all-expense-paid trip to your dream destination?

I’ll definitely go shopping.

○ Homeschooling or traditional school.

Traditional School.

○ A spa day or Eat out?

Spa day for sure. I could care less about eating.

It was lovely learning more from our mum of the month, Ife Durosinmi-Etti. Thank you for sharing with us. You can connect with Ife Durosinmi-Etti here.