Despite the growth in internet cards, there’s nothing quite like receiving a card that you can hold and keep. As she works to expand her greeting card business, Chichi Okoye reflects on what she has learned from her enterprise and the importance of appreciation.

ReConnect Africa spoke to Chichi about her business venture, the importance of long-term business relationships and her plans to take SendOutCards international.

ReConnect Africa (RCA):   You have enjoyed a successful career in international development and now in the UK civil service. What inspired you to set up your own business?

Chichi Okoye:   I felt that having my own business would give me greater control over my life and the opportunity to gain financial freedom by building a business that would generate passive income. I was inspired by Robert Kiyosaki’s books.

RCA:   What made you decide to work with SendOutCards?

Chichi Okoye:   I wanted to combine my desire to run an international home business with my passion for building relationships and touching people’s lives at the same time. I also wanted a business that was flexible enough to fit around my other commitments. I found all this and more in SendOutCards.

RCA:   The slogan for SendOutCards is ‘changing lives…one card at a time’.  What impact do you think receiving cards has, particularly in this age of e-commerce?

Chichi Okoye:  The prompting to reach out and touch someone’s life is something that everyone experiences, and the SendOutCards system enables people to act on their promptings. One of my favourite quotes is from Maya Angelou, and it’s this: “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

I’d like to illustrate this with a true story. One of my customers (we’ll call her “J”) had received a card and small gift that I’d sent her through the SendOutCards system, to show my appreciation for her business. She wrote to say “your card and gift couldn’t have come at a better time. … My spirit and my whole being felt lifted.”

J added that she had been considering cancelling her SendOutCards subscription because she felt her new business was not generating sufficient income to justify sending cards to her clients. Because she was reluctant to sever our business connection, J had sat pondering this for a while until, she said, the answer arrived in the form of my card. Gone were all thoughts of cancelling, she said. She said, “The humble action of you sending me a card has created genuine, positive change in my life.”  

So you can see that a heartfelt card can have a significant impact on the recipient. If anyone reading this would like to experience this for themselves, please get in touch. The first nine people to contact me will get a free trial of the SendOutCards system.

RCA:   Your background is in international development/human rights and now with the UK Civil Service. What did you learn from these experiences that you were able to bring to your enterprise?

Chichi Okoye:   My work in international development/human rights has helped me learn to work with people from a variety of cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. I have also learned that in challenging situations we must develop fortitude and resilience in order to survive and thrive. I continue to apply these lessons to my enterprise.

RCA: How has your African heritage influenced your approach to business and to building a clientele?

Chichi Okoye:   That is an interesting question. I think that my African heritage has made it easier for me to build connections with people I meet.

In Africa, I learned how to strike up conversation with total strangers – that’s a skill that doesn’t come naturally to many people, and it’s so valuable in business today.

Maya Angelou says that a friend may be waiting behind a stranger’s face, and I think that’s derived from her African heritage! Many mutually beneficial business relationships start with some type of interaction between total strangers. It’s called networking.

In building a clientele and a team of business associates, I like to look for possible introductions or referrals within my network of African friends and contacts.  I find that we are able to dispense with weather-related small talk and it’s easy to connect on a deeper level almost right away. This isn’t to say that I only enjoy connecting with people of African heritage.

RCA:   With a ‘day job’ and other family commitments, what are the key challenges you have faced in setting up an enterprise?

Chichi Okoye:   The key challenge I face is juggling my various commitments and fitting them into my schedule. I’m learning to be creative with my time, so for example, I make business calls in my car while waiting to collect my son from school.

RCA:   What are your plans for SendOutCards and for getting your products out to a wider market?

Chichi Okoye:   My main plan is to build an international business in association with a team of heart-centred entrepreneurs, so I’m always looking for people who’d like to use SendOutCards to nurture personal and business relationships, as well as people who might want to set up their own SendOutCards business with full training and support.

I plan to get the word out to a wider market through advertising, word-of-mouth marketing, social media, relationship marketing and other avenues. I also plan to expand and deepen my network, so if anyone reading this would like to connect, please get in touch.

RCA:   What are the key lessons you have learned and what advice can you offer to other professionals who would like to start a business?

Chichi Okoye:   The key lessons I have learned: It takes time and effort to build a business and challenges are inevitable, but not insurmountable. To succeed in business, you have to be mentally strong.

Second, relationship marketing is the most cost-effective and powerful way to retain clients and generate referrals. In business, it’s all about relationships.

The advice I would offer to other professionals who want to start a business is this: always remember that customers are the lifeblood of any business and it’s easier to retain existing customers than it is to find new ones.

Your network or social capital will play a pivotal role in your business. Build long-term relationships with clients, suppliers, supporters, business owners and others. Use SendOutCards – it’s an effective and inexpensive relationship-building tool. Greeting cards get opened almost 100 percent of the time; emails not so much. You can stand out from the competition by sending personalized greeting cards to your clients.

Lastly, believe in yourself, be prepared to learn from your mistakes, and move on. Work on developing resilience – you’ll need it!