HELPING YOU BUILD A LEGACY YOUR KIDS ARE PROUD OF
PURPOSE | FREEDOM | JOY
My VISION is to create a movement of purpose-minded moms like yourself running successful, impactful businesses whilst also running happy homes and leading fulfilling, freedom-filled lives!
I am on a mission to CHANGE THE WORLD one mom at a time.
I am passionate about sharing what I have learned – and continue to learn – with other moms because running a business and running a household are two of the hardest things you can do in life.
Moms are the backbone of our families and communities.
By empowering ourselves to grow into our highest selves, fulfill our calling, and lead our work, home and lives in alignment with our purpose…
…we aren’t just serving ourselves…
We positively influence and impact our families and communities.
We model a powerful example for our family, especially our children, enabling them to rise up to their own purpose which continues down to their children and future generations.
that is the legacy & impact I want us to have.
Who am I?
HELLO AGAIN
I’m Efe
I’M SO GLAD YOU FOUND ME
I am a happy wife, mother of four and a small business owner whose purpose and life mission is to inspire, encourage and educate moms like you to build a business and life you truly enjoy.
I do this by helping you implement the RIGHT systems, structure, and routines in your business and at home, so you can free up your time to focus on what truly matters, maximize your income and live a life of freedom and purpose.
I am so passionate about helping YOU achieve full freedom (my signature "four freedoms") and completely transform your life by stepping into your true purpose, living more intentionally and consciously, and leading yourself, your business and your home well.
How did I end up here?
Well, here's my story...
"JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO DREAM BIG... AND GO AFTER HER DREAMS!"
I ALWAYS KNEW I WANTED TO START MY OWN BUSINESS.
As a young girl living in Ghana, West Africa, I learned about Richard Branson and his Virgin empire (and later read his book “Losing my Virginity “)
I was hooked.
I knew then that some day I too would build something of my own. Something I would create out of nothing with my own hands.
Years later I moved to America and delved into the corporate world, climbing up the infamous “corporate ladder.”
While I was lucky to have great jobs, I never felt fully satisfied, and quite frankly never ‘fit in’ or felt like I belonged.
There was always a yearning for something more. I just knew I was meant for something greater but no matter how hard I worked, that longing was not satisfied.
At one point, I even got accepted as part of a select group of 20 employees from across all levels and divisions in my company to complete an Executive MBA program. It was part of a partnership between NYU’s Stern School of Business and the top Investment Bank where I worked.
I completed my MBA in record time — but more importantly, I was able to take several electives in Entrepreneurship…
My dream of entrepreneurship had been reignited.
And the birth of my first child only added fuel to the flame…
After the birth of my first child, I struggled, like every other working mom, to balance my corporate career with my family’s needs.
I could barely keep my head above water.
AND THE DESIRE TO START MY OWN BUSINESS AND HAVE FREEDOM AND BALANCE ON MY OWN TERMS BECAME STRONGER THAN EVER.
THE NAIL IN THE COFFIN CAME AFTER I HAD MY SECOND CHILD...
I GAVE BIRTH 13 WEEKS EARLY TO A 2LB 3OZ PRECIOUS BABY GIRL - AND AS WITH MY FIRST, I WAS IN LOVE. I SPENT 9 WEEKS OUT OF MY 12-WEEK MATERNITY LEAVE DAILY IN THE HOSPITAL NICU WITH MY BABY GIRL AND ONLY HAD 3 WEEKS REMAINING WITH HER AT HOME BEFORE I HAD TO RETURN TO WORK.
I was CRUSHED.
I didn't know how I could concentrate on work when I had this tiny baby still at home who needed my attention to grow and thrive given her pre-maturity. But I did what I had to do, secured childcare in house and returned to work.
But this was the point where I started to think of my exit plan/strategy.
Those next few years were a struggle and a constant battle within myself between the safety and financial security of my job and the freedom to balance my family's needs on my own terms (not to mention the pride I would get from going after my long-standing dream).
However, by all accounts, I had a dream job.
I worked from home and had a supportive manager which made the decision even more layered and difficult.
But ultimately I knew I would have to make a decision soon based on how I wanted my life to FEEL. The kind of impact I wanted to have.
The kind of legacy I wanted to leave.
And I didn't want to look back on my life with any regrets. I wanted to model for my daughters (I had a third daughter by then) that you could dream big and achieve it.
So finally, after thirteen years in Corporate America, years of wanting and wishing, but being afraid to leap...
I finally quit my job (with the support of my amazing husband) and set out to start my own business.
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didnā€™t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discoverā€¯
- Mark Twain
OFF TO "EXPLORE, DREAM AND DISCOVER" I WENT!
And it was an exhilarating ride filled with ups and downs and many lessons along the way.
SO MY DREAM WAS REALIZED AND I LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER RIGHT?
HA! YEAH RIGHT!
I SOON REALIZED THAT RUNNING MY OWN BUSINESS IN OF ITSELF WAS NOT THE CURE FOR THE WORK -FAMILY – LIFE BALANCE CONUNDRUM LIKE I EXPECTED.
In fact, I was working even harder, and making far less than the six figures I had given up!
Furthermore, I was spending many nights and weekends (prime family time) at the studio overseeing operations and meeting our customers and charity partners.
But I was content, confident in my decision and excited to be living the dream.
So I continued to hustle - and with the help of a great team and my supportive family - we achieved great business success and the studio and our mission to GIVE BACK was widely recognized in the press!
We were also well received in the community and received many awards. It was exciting! I was doing this! Living the dream I had since I was a little girl. I was so proud and happy that my three girls got to see their mom being a BOSS and living life on her own terms!
Things were by no means perfect but at least it felt good to have control and autonomy over my business.
What I did NOT have was full control over my time.
AND THEN CAME BABY!
And then my husband and I got the best SURPRISE!
Baby #4 was on his way!
And let me tell you, while we were uber excited to have a little man join our clan of girls, our world was rocked!
After I had him, whatever semblance of balance I was desperately trying to hold on to slipped out of my hands.
I was struggling.... and completely underwater!
I was sleep-deprived, exhausted (thanks to the frequent night time dates with my little guy :)) and running on empty.
I felt guilty about decreasing our family income by giving up my corporate salary, but even MORE guilty about the limited time I had to spend with the family.
Oh, let me clarify - limited QUALITY time. Because a lot of times I was with them physically but wasn’t present mentally.
I vividly remember one day my daughter showed me a picture of our family she had made at school. In it, I was drawn with what looked like a box by me.
Curious, I asked her what it was.
"I drew you with your laptop because you are always working and on your phone"
UGH.
H E A R T B R E A K I N G
I was CRUSHED!
I mean, I knew I had been consumed with my business and was always working or interrupting family fun with phone calls I had to answer or a newsletter I had to "quickly" send out etc... but actually hearing those words from my little one made it sink in in a way it hadn't before.
My fellow mompreneurs, I am sure you are well aware of this guilt.
And not just the kids. To be honest I was also monopolizing time with the hubby with constant talk about the business, and frequently interrupting quality time with work.
Overall, I just hadn’t been tending to my ‘home’ as much as I wanted to.
One thing was for sure – this family dynamic was NOT the balance I had envisioned and hoped for when I left my corporate job.
There had to be a better way to rock this business thing and still enjoy the rest of my life! I wanted to kill it in my business - and at home.
So I took a long honest look inward (I’m talking some pretty deep inner work and soul searching here) and around me... and I came to the harsh realization:
The truth was that I had been operating with not much of a structure and shooting from the hip for far too long!
I hadn’t set up the necessary systems and processes in my business that were needed to scale. I had jumped in head on and gone into hustle mode, focused on strategic action to grow the business with the help of my team and family. And it worked.
We took off like a rocket! And we grew so fast and there was a lot to do and I got sucked into the day to day operations and ALL THE THINGS just to keep up and get things done.
And ironically it became even harder to stop and make the time to implement those much needed foundational systems that would actually alleviate the stress and overwhelm.
And so while it worked great and I was getting by and doing well, that was just not the best way to do things; it was not sustainable long term in terms of having a healthy balance between the business and the rest of my life.
Continuing down that path was going to lead to burnout or worse.
Cracks were already beginning to show and so when a new baby was added to the mix, it became too much and I couldn't keep going the way I was.
If I was going to maintain my sanity and any semblance of balance - which WAS THE MAIN REASON I HAD STARTED MY BUSINESS IN THE FIRST PLACE - then I had to take a step back, determine what I desired for my business and life, what the important priorities were and then make some serious changes accordingly!
The good news was - it was not too late. I could change direction. I just needed a plan, and I needed it STAT.
THE TRANSFORMATION... AND A NEW PURPOSE
Over time I put together a plan to implement.
I needed to determine what was most important to me, my business and my lifestyle and then develop the right plan and systems to align with that.
So I took a step back and assessed everything that was needed to run the business, figured out what was essential and determined the most effective way to deliver going forward.
This included knowing my personality, strengths and passions and making sure to factor that into the decisions I made. (Because by the way, another realization I made was that while I loved running my own business, I was spending too much time on things and tasks that were out of alignment with my personality, passion and strengths).
In hindsight, had I taken the time prior to opening to put the needed structure and systems in place, things would have been so SO much smoother!
But let’s be honest – sometimes you just don’t know what you don’t know.
I NOW HAVE A SYSTEM IN PLACE THAT I CONTINUE TO BUILD UPON AS I LEARN, ADAPT AND GROW. BECAUSE THIS IS NOT A ONE TIME AND DONE THING, AND I STILL HAVE WEAKNESSES AND BLINDSPOTS. EVERYONE DOES. THERE IS – AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE – CONTINUOUS LEARNING AND ADJUSTING BUT HAVING THE SYSTEM AND STRUCTURE IS KEY.
I am now focused on “working ON the business instead of IN it” and I have the balance and fulfillment that I desire.
Most importantly for me, it didn’t stop with just the business. My home could certainly use some help too! So I thought to myself, why not transfer some of this structure over to my home life, after all running a home IS like running an organization, and while we usually don’t think of it as such it helps to approach it that way. I implemented similar systems and routines at home as well.
And that turned out to be the true game-changer and turning point!
There is now calm, simplicity and fun at home (pretty big deal for a family of SIX!) which spills over into how I approach my business and my WHOLE life is better for it.
I am SO thankful for this roller-coaster journey with all the mistakes, shifts and lessons – that were difficult at the time – because they were EXACTLY what I needed to learn and grow and get to this point. And it is what has led me to uncover my purpose and LIFE'S WORK – which merges my passion for all things business and my desire to give back – which is to help other mompreneurs like you by sharing all the lessons, tools and strategies I picked up along the way and implemented so that you too can have a successful business and the happy home you desire.
They say you teach what you most needed to learn, and truly that is exactly at the core of why I am doing this.
This is truly the SWEET SPOT where my experiences, personality, passions, and strengths intersect! And it is my JOY and privilege to be able to serve other moms like you.
WHICH BRINGS ME TO YOU
Let me ask you this, fellow mompreneur –
I already know, as a mompreneur, you are a go-getter who has taken ACTION to go after her dreams and you are working hard each day giving all you have to your business and home.
But are you happy and feeling fulfilled? Are you truly enjoying your days and spending time on what is important to you?
Do you have days where you are able to take a step back, take a breather from all the grinding and hustle, and APPRECIATE what you have built and the life you have? (without worry about loosing ground on the business front (because you have the right systems in place)).
I hope so. That is what I want for you. And I want to help you achieve and maximize that.
If you are barely staying afloat, struggling to find balance in your day-to-day and overwhelmed, I want to share the knowledge and lessons I’ve learned to help you too transform YOUR life and create the business and life you enjoy.
I want to help you go FROM overwhelmed, exhausted and ready to give up TO THRIVING, maximizing your time and income and truly enjoying your WHOLE life.
And if you haven’t started your business yet, I want to help you do the work to get to know yourself deeply so you can finally stop second-guessing and take action to launch a business that is perfectly aligned with your skill sets, personality, passion and purpose. And then help you implement the necessary systems and structure beforehand so you can truly enjoy your business and live your life on your own terms.
I look forward to connecting with you.
Click below to learn more about working with me!
Professional Bio
As the Creator of the Plan4Freedom System, Efe is passionate about helping moms achieve full freedom (her "four freedoms") and completely transform their lives by stepping into their true purpose, living more intentionally and consciously, and developing their innate ability to lead themselves, their business and their homes well.
Leveraging her experience and lessons gained from launching, operating and eventually selling her award-winning, socially-conscious brick and mortar art studio business while managing her household of six, Efe is now focused specifically on teaching and equipping moms to implement the RIGHT systems in their business and their homes in order to free up their time, maximize their income so that they can truly enjoy their lives, do the things and be with the people that they love.
When she is not busy taking care of her family, home and business (or in the recent Covid new normal, juggling home-schooling and business while making sure everyone is fed and accident-free!), Efe can be found laughing up a storm whilst busting a move (usually during an afro-beats dance party) with her crazy crew, experimenting with a new found recipe or catching up on her latest audiobook.
Born and raised in Ghana, Efe has an executive MBA (Entrepreneurship and Leadership & Change Management) from the New York University Stern School of Business and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Financial Economics & Information Technology undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College, a Seven Sisters college in South Hadley, Massachusetts.
Efe currently lives in New Jersey with her husband (of 13 years) and four young kids.
Efe's Philosophy :
You truly are always ONE decision away from a completely different life. Whatever circumstance you face... there is almost always an opportunity to pivot, course-correct or change course. You just have to decide to.
