Here to Make Friends

I can’t possibly be the only one who gets bewildered when asked the question “tell me about yourself”. Suddenly I’m like a cat on hot bricks, or should I say ‘on Christiane Amanpour’s bricks’! My mind suddenly goes on a rampage and every possible response to that request begins to squabble in my head. In short I don’t like the question! But I guess I can’t avoid it this time, I intend to be sharing my life and work experiences with you from time to time, and this being the maiden edition I’m thinking it’s just right to start off by introducing myself to you.

So here we go, but first #BurmesePosition

Yeah my name is Gbemisola Adebayo, I’m a spoilt wife, a mum to three beautiful girls, I’m a fitness enthusiast, and I love to travel to places rich in culture and tradition. Wait, don’t be fooled by the fitness enthusiast part, my body isn’t toned, I don’t have six packs, and I am not a size 8! Yam will not allow me to be great; what, don’t judge me I’m from Ondo town for Pete sake! Anyways, back to my introduction (you see what I meant about every possible response squabbling in my head), I am the founder and CEO of Hegai & Esther Cosmetics – a makeup production company, a director in Abaolu Farms – a dry foods company, and I sit on the board of an NGO and a multi-national cable company. Don’t get me wrong though, this CEO/director isn’t self-adsorbed and sitting obliviously at the top, neither is she hidden away in the cushy confines of her “pent house’ sipping Hambledon. I am at the front lines with my employees, and I am not afraid to get my hands dirty.

Speaking of dirty, I got my big break in business in the year 2012 when I launched a campaign on makeup hygiene. I had a horrendous experience nursing my one-year-old daughter when she came down with oral herpes. For some reason she couldn’t tell the difference between food and a makeup brush so she used to put my dirty, unsterilized makeup brushes in her mouth. The unpleasant experience gave me an epiphany as I was convinced that a lot of makeup artists and enthusiasts weren’t aware of the dangers lurking inside their dirty, unsterilized makeup tools. So, I started the campaign and today the rest is history.

You may be wondering ‘Why is Gbemi sending me a personal blog?’ I’m not even gonna lie, this CEO lags behind in social interactions and she desperately wants to connect with you, PERIOD! You know, being a CEO can sometimes be an incredibly lonely job; when you are in a position of power the buck stops with you, and the pressure to consistently deliver results tends to sometimes make you isolate yourselves. So this is my way of embarking on a mission to revamp my social life; I recently joined a gym, I set alarms on my phone to remind me to call/chat up family and friends, and I have made several failed attempts to get a dog. Like seriously WHY WON’T DEMOLA ALLOW ME GET A FREAKING DOG??? I’ve tried all the tricks in the book, I’ve cajoled, I’ve promised to house train the dog, and I have even enlisted the girls to promise they’d get all As in their studies, but the man of the house just wouldn’t budge. Guys I’m open to suggestions on how I can convince Demola that the dog won’t be a pain in the arse (pardon my language) PLEASE ADVISE!!!

Besides wanting to revive my social life, I believe I have garnered lots of experience from life and business and its time I shared all of these with the world, starting with people who have supported me and my brand over the years, people like you!

I should stop here don’t you think? Before you start thinking this lady is so chatty, on the contrary I’m an introvert. While I may thrive in communicating using my keyboard, I cower when put on the spot.

It’s either of two things if you have read to this point, you’re either bored or somehow you were able to connect with me on a deep level, to God I’m hoping it’s the latter! If it is so pleeeease let us make this a two-way communication thingy, drop a heart, a comment, or share with someone.

Hugs, Love, and Chocolate Bar